New world
by Turtler-Pomf
Summary: The endless loop, a curse; that's all their life ever was. But what happens when they break the system and are brought into the new world where they can finally live as humans and not programmed as entertainment puppets? How will Lightning and her friends overcome the struggle of their new emotions and hardships as they taste real life.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The new world.

"Soldier, Knight and Saviour" an echoed voice called through the dark chaos that was enveloping the old world. "To be trapped in a visious cycle, there is no rest" Images from the events of long ago flashed relentlessly: The falling and crystalization of cacoon. The death and rebirth of those lost, and the countless trails faced by the six.

Suddenly, the black chaos began to glitch as it rewinded. The battle against God himself was becoming undone and time reversed. This was the eternal torture for those lost souls. They were not real, therefore they had no real world to go to. Their 'new world' was nothing but a myth. It was a lie fed to them through a programme by their creators. They were nothing but puppets to be played with, over and over again for the entertainment of humans.

"You already know the bitter truth, don't you?" A young, mischievious voice echoed through the mind of a pink haired woman, who floated through the dark background, waiting to be restarted into the game.

"I already know?" She replied with a hazy voice, unsure of where this voice was coming from. However, she could recognise it clear as day: Lumina. She was talking to Lightning, but how? "Lumina?"

"Who else, silly?" The young girl mocked. "But you have to hurry up before they restart the game and you lose all your memories!"

"My memories? Restart the game? Lumina, what are you talking about?"

"Don't tell me it's already too late! You do know that unless you outsmart this system, you and your friends will be stuck here forever, right? This endless loop of torment for the human's entertainment." The young girl's words were nothing but a mess of words to Lightning, but at the same time, she was starting to understand, like recalling memories.

"Like a game?"

"Bingo." Lumina cheered.

"But how is that possible? And...how do I outsmart it? What do you mean? How do you even know all this?" Lightning spat her many questions out into the air.

"Enough questions!" Lumina yelled angrily "We haven't got time for this! I'm not going through this all over again, so hurry up and outsmart it so we can all be free and live in the new world we're promised"

"You mean...we never got there, did we? I remember now." Lightning nodded "But Lumina, the new world was never meant for you, so why does it matter so much?"

"Because if you outsmart it, I won't be trapped inside of you. I'll get my own body, my own life! We all will. So hurry up! You're the only one, Lightning. So do it quickly" Lumina's voice began to fade, as though her thoughts were being pulled away from Lightning's.

"It's starting again." Lightning gasped, whirling her body around as it floated effortlessly in the now glitchy background. Shades of green and blue flashing everywhere and encoded data flashing about. "But how do I-" She glanced around frantically, looking for a way to free her and her friends for good.

She pulled her body through the empty space, trying desperately to reach somewhere.

"Please, tell me what I must do!" She called out, but there was no response to her desperate plea. She then hit a wall that glitched out more as her body came into contact with it. "What's this?" She touched it again, noticing it was fragile and the source of the floating data and glitches. "Serah.." Lightning closed her eyes for a moment, thinking about her younger sister whome she tried so desperately to save. throughout her journey, it always came down to being with Serah again, didn't it? She didn't want to go through all that again and pulled out her gunblade. "We will be together again, no longer hoping and dreaming of a false freedom" She kicked her legs against the strange wall and her body began to float away as she pulled her gunblade into gunmode and shot a few bullets off, hitting the screen and causing it to crack more and more untill-

CRASH!

The screen broke into a million pieces that fell passed Lightning, a bright light seeping out from behind that was strong enough to force Lightning to cover her eyes.

"What...is this?" She could feel the warmth from the light, slowly pulling her body in. It was strange for her, since she had never felt something like this. In fact, it made her wonder; did she ever feel at all? Or were all her emotions and feelings nothing more than programmed into her?

The light enveloped her body, leaving nothing untouched by it's light. Whatever happened to that place after was unknown to the worrior as she felt her mind slip away into a sleep, unable to feel the warmth any longer.

"...tch" Emerald eyes peeled open to see a blue sky above, white, fluffy clouds blotting here and there. The feeling of something soft and warm on her skin, feeling it tickle her palms as she ran her hand along the surface. She pulled her aching body up to see she was in a field, green grass carressing her body. Glancing around more, she could see her friends all sprawled out in the distance, laying lifelessly on the grass before waking up and pulling their bodies up.

"Ugh..." Several moans and groans were all that could be heard as they came to terms with the new feelings. They had never truly felt pain, in fact, this was the first time they experienced anything like that at all. It really was nothing but data programmed into them before. But then, did this mean Lightning really did outsmart the system and free them all into the new world?

"Lightning!" Lightning turned to see Serah running at her, throwing her arms around her neck and hugging her tightly. "Lightning, is this real? Are we really free?" Her voice was shaky, as if filled with the fear that this was just a dream and she'd be pulled back any moment.

"I think so." Lightning smiled, pulling away to see her sister's face.

"It's about time you woke up and broke that barrier! I was starting to get fed up of waiting." Fang strutted over, resting an arm on Lightning's shoulder. "Although, I don't think I like the whole actually feeling things now." She complained, rubbing her aching back.

"Looks like breaking the system has it's effects on us too." Hope shrugged. "But it's a little price to pay for freedom."

"That's right. Serah and I can finally get married and the ache she feels now will be nothing comapared to how she'll feel in the morning" He winked at Serah, making her cheeks flush a shade of red.

"S-Snow!"

"That's quite enough from you" Fang shoved moved him away, shaking her head back and forth. "Still a cheeky boy, aren't you?" Despite their personalities being nothing but a programme, they were all still pretty much the same. Except now, they were going to make their own futures and deal with being human. It was also made pretty easy given the fact they still had the common knowledge they were programmed with. They weren't completely fresh out and unknowing of the world, but they still had a lot to learn.

"Hey, daddy. Where's Chocolina?" The young boy asked his father, who was still sitting on the floor. "She's not here."

"Are you sure?" Sazh, looking confused, shook her head a little to see if the sneaky chocobo chick was hiding in his hair, but there was no movement. "Chocolina?"

"I don't think...chocobo's exist in this world, Sazh." Vanille said sadly, cupping her hands near her chest. "It looks like not even her human form could exist here."

"Wait, I thought Lumina said we'd all be set free? Doesn't that mean everyone?" Lightning scowled. "Speaking of that devil, where is she?" Everyone glanced around to see no sign on her. It was only Lightning and her friends she had shared a focus with, including Serah and Dajh.

"Looks like not everyone can get out."Serah sighed. "But that's okay. We'll just make the most of our lives for those who couldn't be here, right?"

"Right" Lightning nodded.

"But what about Noel? I mean, he has every right to be here too." Snow has a point, but just like the rest, Noel was nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe it's my fault. Maybe I didn't fully break the system." Lightning shook her head, lowering it as she thought. "Maybe-"

"Now that's enough." Fang interrupted. "We don't need to worry about them lot. We're here now and that's all that matters. We were freed from that cursed place, the system is broke. Maybe they were sent to another world or even another location. Either way, it's impossible for them to be trapped when you broke the system that held us all in there."

"Fang's right. I'm sure we'll see them again, and if not, we shouldn't worry about it." Hope finished. "But we're not like we were before. We need food and water in order to survive and we don't have any of that. We better make our way to a nearby town and figure it out from there"

Lightning couldn't help but smile at the young boy. Even after all this, he was still the responsible young man he had grown into. He wasn't trapped in his 14 year old body anymore, but he wasn't quite the age he had grown into either. He was inbetween, that of an 18 year old. Everyone else, however, was the same.

"Alright, lets go!" Vanille cheered and everyone began to follow the nearby road for what seemed like hours.

"Ugh, are we there yet?" Dajh complained, sulking his head and dragging his body along, beside his father.

"Almost, son." Sazh chuckled, patting his back. "Hey, you want a piggyback ride?"

"Yeah!" Dajh cheered, jumping up with excitement as his father got on his knee and helped Dajh jump up onto his back.

"Oohh, ouch." Sazh groaned as he stood back to his feet and continued to walk. "Looks like I'm not as strong as I was, huh? Yeah, but that's reality for you."

"Come on, pops! You're not that old." Vanille chirped.

"Hey, look!" Hope pointed off into the distance to a town. "It's a town, let's go." They all nodded and began to run towards the town, Sazh a little more behind, of course.

Apon arriving in the town, they recieved several stares from the towns people. Like they had never seen anything like it, although none of them understood why they were recieving such stares when they were the same kind.

"I really don't like this." Vanille huddled closer to Fang.

"Do you think they know?" Fang was holding her lance, ready to attack anyone who came near. "What if they send us back?"

"Don't be silly. It's probaby the clothes we're wearing. I mean, look at us compared to them." Lightning remarked. Of course, she was right. The clothes they were wearing were like something out of...well a game.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" A man called out to them, startling them all. "You're not lost, are you?" He was tall with messy, brown hair and deep, green eyes.

"Uhh, yeah." Snow pushed passed, reaching out his hand for a handshake. "The name's Snow and these are my friends. We're not from around here and were looking for a place to rest." Nice save. For once Snow wasn't an arrogant idiot.

"Oh, I see." The man eyed them all before smiling brightly "Well I'm Johanes. Nice to meet you." He shook Snow's hand firmly. "I don't think the local hotel actually has anymore room for new comers." He stated, rubbing his chin in thought.

"So does that mean we're gonna have to find somewhere else? Because I don't think my poor back can take much more of this." Sazh complained, setting his son down.

"How long do you plan on staying here?" Johanes asked curiously.

"For as long as we need. I mean, we'd like a place to live for a while." Snow answered, making Johanes nod.

"I see. Alright, well this is a pretty large town, you know. We have several new houses under recronstruction that are almost complete, so I can't give you one yet. However, I can give you a place to stay in the meantime."

"Thanks, we appreciate it." Snow chuckled. "So where is this place to?"

"I hope you don't mind, but it's next door to me. It's my second house" Second house? Somehow that was pretty convienient for them now, but it did raise the question of why he had a second house next door to his actual house.

He walked them all the way to his place, which took a while since it was pretty far from the centre of town. "So don't you guys have any stuff?"

"Stuff?"

"Yeah, you know...like bags full of clothes and other belongings."

"No, we don't have anything at all." Serah sighed, realising this was going to be harder than she thought.

"Well, I can get you started. But then, where are you guys from? What's your story and why are you wearing such weird clothes?"

They all fell silent, unsure of how to reply. They couldn't tell him the truth, not at all. They had to make up a story, but how could they? What would they say?

"We don't want to talk about it right now." Fang broke the silence.

"Oh? Why not?"

"Do we have to explain ourselves to a stranger? You might be providing us shelter, but that doesn't mean we have to tell you things we don't feel comfortable telling. We'll tell you when the time is right." And with Fang's quick save, Johanes dropped the subject and opened the door to his second house.

"Alright then." He sighed. "Well there's already furniture in here. Beds, a sofa, tv's ect." He walked through the house and into the kitchen. "I'll figure something out for your clothes, but for now, you're stuck in those..." He scanned their clothes again, unsure if he should go out and grab some things straight away.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. Our clothes are off." Fang snapped, feeling irritated by his constant judging stare.

"S-sorry." He rubbed the back of his head. "Well anyway, we can go shopping in a bit since this place needs a restock on food. So how about we split into groups after, yeah? I'll take you on a tour first." He smiled, gesturing to the house. "There are 4 rooms in total- I'm sure you can devide yourselves up."

He led them through the living room that had a large, flat screen tv on the wall and a long, leather couch along the wall with a coffee table in the centre. The kitchen's counter seperated the living room from the kitchen, that was glistening. A large fridge, decent cooker and several other things. Upstairs was a large hallway. At the end was a large bathroom with a shower, bath, toilet and sink. Either side of the bathroom were 2/4 of the rooms, both large with two beds. A little furth down was another two rooms. These two had their own bathrooms, but only had one bed in each.

"So, take you pick of the rooms. I'll wait downstairs and we can start. Also, I only know Snow's name..so I'll want to know when you come down." He chuckled, leaving them to it.

Lightning watched him leave, her eyes narrow. She was suspicious of him alright. What human would go this far to help a group of people he didn't know?

"Alright, I say Serah and I should get one of the rooms with a double bed." He smirked, snaking his hands around Serah's waiste.

"Snow, stop that.." Serah blushed, giggling like a silly schoolgirl.

"Alright, cut it out." Lightning frowned. "You two are not sharing. Snow, you and Hope can share one of the other rooms. Serah and I will share the double bed room." Lightning didn't give them any room for debate and dragged her sister along into the room she picked out. It was clean with a nice, big double bed and a large window and walk in wardrobe, not forgetting their own bathroom.

"Alright. I guess we're in here then, Hope." Snow chuckled, rubbing the back of his head before heading into his room with Hope. Two single beds, a wardrobe and a nice view. "I guess it'll do. Hey, we can have late nights playing video games!" Snow cheered, noticing the console on the floor with two remotes.

"It'll be weird considering we're from one ourselves." Hope laughed.

"Hey, Vanille, we'll take the one next to Lightning's. Then you and your son can take the one near Snow's, alright, Sazh?" Fang turned, heading into her room. It looked just like Lightning's, except it was a little smaller.

"Alright. I guess that leaves us in here." Sah shrugged, heading into his room with Dajh, who picked the bed closest to the large window.

After a few moments, they all came down and met with Johanes in the kitchen.

"Alright, I've devided a few groups: Food shopping, clothes shopping and other essentials" Johanes chirped. "So, uhh...names?"

"I'm Serah"

"Hope"  
>Vanille"<br>Fang"

Sazh, and this is my son, Dajh"

"Lightning..." Johanes raised an eyebrow, looking at Lightning.

"Lightning? That's an unusual name."

"It's more of a nickname, actually." Snow smirked. "She likes to act all cool, you know."

"Snow, shut it." Lightning scowled, elbowing Snow in the stomach.

"Alright, sorry...ouch.." He rubbed her stomach, wincing slightly.

"Right...well, lets just get shopping done okay?" Johanes interrupted.

After a while of debating over who does what and Johanes informing them of certain things they'd need, they finally devided themselves. They'd all do their own clothes shopping last, but first, Serah, Vanille, Hope and Fang were going to get the food while the rest got the essentials.

It was a stressful ordeal for Lightning, who decided she didn't like shopping at all. But eventually, they all managed to come back with everything ticked off the list and all that was left was clothes shopping, The girls went together with a budget of £300, and the boys on their own with £200, since they bought less anyway.

"Ugh, can't I just not be here?" Lightning complained, crossing her arms and rejecting the clothing rack.

"Come on, sis. This is fun!" Serah chirped before a cute top caught her eyes. "Ah, look at this! It would look so cute with these shorts" Serah pulled out a pair of shorts she had already out in her basket and looked at the two together before throwing them both back in her basket. It was the first time Serah had ever felt excitement, and she had a real excitement for clothes shopping. Vanille was the same, and both her and Serah would squeel every now and then after seeing something they liked. Fang was more concieted, but still had a lot of clothes in her basket and saw it more of something she needed rather than something she enjoyed. Lightning, however, hated it.

"Come on, sis. This would look so cute on you." Serah giggled, holding a thin-strapped top up to Lightning's chest.

"I said no." Lightning frowned, shaking off her little sister.

"Aww, come on." She pouted, looking as sad as she could. Lightning felt guilt for the first time, and she didn't like it. The fact her little sister had this much power over her made her uncomfortable, but just like before, Serah meant the world to her and she couldn't bring herself to be mad at her and took the shirt and threw it into her basket

"Fine." She huffed, feeling her cheeks heat up a little from the embarrassment.

"Yay!" Serah chirped, running off to fing more clothes for herself. Lightning sighed, giving in and following her sister, browsing through some clothes she thought were nice and occasionally throwing some into her basket.

"Fang, what's this?" Vanille asked, holding up a lacy, rather sexy-looking piece. Fang glanced over and felt her cheeks heat up and lost her composure, stuttering a little.

"V-Vanille, put that down." She pulled Vanille's hands down so she wasn't holding the piece up for everyone to see. "You do realise what that is, right?"

"No, that's why I asked." She tilted her head to the side innocently.

"Jeez, Vanille." Fang closed her eyes, composing herself and inhaling deeply before turning to Vanille and explaining, placing her hands on Vanille's shoulders. "That's a sexy garment."

"Whaaa?" Vanille blushed, looking back down at it. "You mean...Serah should have it for Snow then!"

"I wouldn't want Lightning to hear you say that." Fang sighed, but it was too late. Lightning was stood not far off, a hot steam coming from her as she clenched her fists tightly. "O-oh..hey, Lightning." She chuckled.

"Don't put that idea into her head. If I see Serah with one of those, I'm holding you responsible." Lightning said bluntly, not turning to face them at all and walked off to pay for what she bought.

"That was close." Fang sighed in relief. "Now put that back. A girl your age can't be buying one of those."

"A girl my age?" Vanille frowned, placing her hands on her hips. "I'm over 1000 years old!"

"Not here you're not. You're the age your physical body shows now, Vanille." Fang chuckled, patting her on the head. "Lets just go and pay."

After paying for their things, the girls headed back and put their things away. Serah had hung all her clothes up neatly in the wardobe and was busy sorting out Lightning's, who had just thrown hers in there without a care.

"Seriously, sis. You need to put more care into things." Serah scolded, finally finishing with neating it up and walking back over with the pj's Lightning had bought for herself. "Put these on your bed, ready for later."

"Yes, mum." Lightning mocked, taking the neatly folded clothing and tossing it on her side of the bed.

"You're terrible!" Serah frowned, hands on hips.

"Sorry." Lightning chuckled, unable to resist at how funny Serah looked when she was mad. Lightning had never really saw this side of Serah, but she knew she had it. She saw so in Valhalla, but she had never witnessed it first hand.

"Lets just go down and wait for the guys." Serah sighed, flopping onto the bed. "Today has been so busy. I never thought being an actual person would be so tiring."

"Yeah, you and me both, Serah." Lightning chuckled. "But it makes me wonder, how come no one has come for us? We broke the system and got out, but surely whoever created us knows and can come get us, right? And what about this world? Does our game not exist here?"

"I don't think so, sis." Serah replied. "I mean, Lumina was the one who told us all about breaking from this place, but since she's not here, we can't ask her." Serah pulled her tired body back up and pursed her lips. "But I wonder if they'll be able to find us and send us back too. Of course, there's no point in worrying about it, right?"

"Right." Lightning nodded, but there was an unpleasent feeling growing inside her. She wasn't ready to brush it off just yet. If they did come and get them, what then? Would they have their memories of this erased and go back to being programmed puppets? No, she didn't want that. She saw Serah smile a real smile today. Everyone was so happy. There was no way she was going to give that up.

AN: Don't worry! Just because Lumina, Noel and other's havent appeared yet, doesn't mean they never will :p just be patient. Also, yes, I'm using OC's for this. I may also throw in some romance, but I don't know yet. Please don't tell me what ships to do either because if I do romance, I already know who's with who. Peace out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: If this reality is real

"Hey, Serah!" Snow's voice called from downstairs as the guys came back and disrupted their conversation. "Come check out the clothes I baught. I want to see what you think." His loud voice continued to shout.

"Ohh, coming!" Serah chirped, jumping up off her bed and running out and downstairs, leaving the ex-soldier to her thoughts. Even though she knew she had no need to worry, she couldn't help it. These unpleasent feelings continued to grow with unease. Even if this was her reward, her gift to finally live and stop being everyone's worrior, she couldn't help but continue to hold the weight of the worry.

"Tch...for the first time ever, I actually want to see Lumina." Lightning chuckled, shaking her head before glancing at the mirror that sat above a beautifully carved dresser. She stared at her own features and perks. Her pink hair that stuck up in the odd place; it was certainly strange in this world, wasn't it? She noticed how the people stared at them, but she also noticed how different they looked. It wasn't huge differences, but obvious ones. Their hair was a lot more simple and bland. Their clothing wasn't showy or 'out there' either. But then something else crossed her mind: Johannes. Why was he helping them out of the blue? Was it normal nature for people in this world? No, it couldn't be. There must be a catch, right? Lightning knew she couldn't trust him. Even if everyone else fell into his trap, Lightning was sure to keep up her gaurd and protect them from their own blindness.

"Hey, Light!" Lightning was snapped out of her thoughts by Fang, who stood in the doorway with a smirk. "What're you doing up here all alone? Come down and hang with everyone." She strutted over, sitting beside Lightning on the bed. "Yeah, we do look strange, don't we? I never really thought it, but we always stood out, even inside our game. Maybe it's just how the game world is."

"Then..how do we know this isn't part of the game, too?" Lightning knew it wasn't the case, but she couldn't help but question the Pulsian woman's words.

"Because I can feel." Fang chuckled, looking at her hands. "I remember how it felt before. We could feel, but we couldn't, you know? The feelings we felt weren't our own, but a programme encoded into us. It wasn't real, but this? It's real alright."

"I see." Lightning chuckled. "Well I know what you mean, Fang. Anyway, lets go see everyone else." Lightning stood up, followed by Fang and they headed down to the others.

"Snow, you'll look the coolest." Serah chirped, hugging the tall, bulky man as he grinned his usual, stupid smile that would usually piss Lightning enough to make her throw a punch or two, but this time, she didn't feel that impulse. She cringed at it, but she didn't feel the need to hit him to the floor like in the game world.

"Please get a room." Hope sighed as the couple began to kiss. "Oh, hey Light!" He perked up as soon as he noticed Lightning walk in.

"I think it's worse here than it was when we were trapped in that game." Lightning grimaced.

"Yeah, I know." Just as Hope awkwardly said that, Serah and Snow's lips finally parted and Snow chuckled.

"Come on, guys. It's a blossoming romance. Leave us be, right? Besides, I was never able to tell Serah how much I loved her ever, but now, I feel like it's real for once. Like I finally have her." Snow gazed into Serah's eyes lovingly as he held her close.

"Oh, please." Lightning rolled her eyes just as Johannes walked in.

"Oh, you're all here?" Johannes smiled, setting down a box on the counter. "That's great since I have some things to talk to you about."

"Well, go on then." Fang leaned on him, her arm resting on his shoulder. "No need to take your time."

"Err..well, you see..." Johannes chuckled nervously, stratching the back of his head. "You'll all need to search for jobs, of course. I can't let you live here, completely debt free forever, you know."

"I knew it." Lightning glared. "You wanted money out of us all along."

"H-hey now" Johannes defended. "It's not like that. Yes, it's true I'm currently in a bit of struggle with paying off a few bills, but you're in just as much of a pickle as me, so I figured we could help each other. All you have to do is work and pay me a monthly paycheck and you can live here for as long as you want." The room fell silent for a moment befor Hope finally spoke up, being the mature young man he had grown into.

"I think that's pretty reasonable." Lightning shot him a stare. "Don't look at me like that, Light. He's offered us a place to stay and has already given us so much. The least we could do is earn our own money and go along with this. Besides, is it really so bad? I feel like we've got it a lot easier, especially since we're just starting out in this world."

"Hope's right." Serah nodded. "We wouldn't last very long at all if it wasn't for Johannes' kindness...even if it was a bit self profited at first."

"Yeah! Thank you, Mr" Vanille chirped. But Johannes was still a bit baffled.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'just starting out in this world'?" Uh-oh. Damn it, Hope. They all exchanged looks, unsure of how to reply when-

"Is that the wrong term to use?" Snow chuckled, walking over and patting Johannes' shoulder. "I think what the kid meant was, new to the world of money and living on our own." Nice save, again. Lightning let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, right. I guess you guys really are quite a mysterious bunch, huh?" Johannes let out a nervous chuckle. "But I'm sure you'll tell me more when you're ready."

"You bet." Snow smiled his goofy smile.

"Hey, you know...how do we even get jobs?" Sazh asked. Of course, he was right to do so since none of them had a clue.

"You guys really are clueless." Johannes sighed, rubbing his temple. "Well, alright. First of all, you'll need to go and look by going into town. However..." He scanned over Vanille, Hope, Dajh and Serah. "how old are you?"

"I'm 18"

"19!"

"I'm 20"

"And I'm 6" Dajh finished with a bright smile.

"Alright. Well the young one will need to enroll into a primary school." Johannes informed. "You can do that by going into the school and asking for enrollment forms and sorting it out from there. I'll help you with that." He then turned his gaze to the other three "You three can go into college if you wanted to. In fact, you all could, assuming you want to. But it might be harder for those under 20 to get work."

"That's alright. College sounds fun!" Vanille chirped.

"I'll be alright, since I'm 20 anways, right?" Serah asked. She wasn't really sure her age at all. None of them were since they had been thrown and pulled through time. Their programmed data was all they knew, but there was no officiall ages after the events of the first game, so they stuck to that for now and what little data they could remember. Serah was completely guess though.

"Well, do what you like, missy. Since you're cute, it might be easier for you." Johannes chuckled, but Snow did not take lightly to him hitting on Serah.

"Hey, that's my fiance." He warned.

"Sorry. You did say so already, but I had forgot." He chuckled nervously for the millionth time. "What about you, lad?" He turned to Hope.

"Me? Well I hadn't really thought about it." Hope remembered how he had been the leader to somethnig great once. The feelings he felt then, if you could call it feelings, were next to nothing. But he did like the thought of being a leader and guiding people. And of course, he had to work hard for that, if he remembered correctly. It involved a lot of work, and that was at a young age. Since he was already 18, he'd have to knuckle down. "Alright. I think I'll go to college and study something, but could you show me what kinds of things to look for?"

"Of course. My oldest nefew has been there for a while, so I'll gladly help you out too."

"That's great and all, but what else?" Lightning spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Johannes' eyebrow peaked slightly.

"I mean what else do you want from us? Surely that can't be all."

"Lightning, come on. He's doing so much for us." Snow reasoned, patting Lightning on the shoulder. "Lay off, okay?"

"No, you lay off." She shook Snow off. "I can't just simply accept he's helping us out of the kindness of his heart when he already admitted to seeing us as a way to pay off debt at first glance."

"Lightning, what's this really about?" Serah huffed, her hands on her hips. "Stop being like that! We're finally getting a chance to really live and you're already shooting down the people helping us." Lightning felt herself sink a little as her younger sister yelled at her. It wasn't so great when Serah's anger was focused on her, and she had never experience it before.

"No, it's okay." Johannes chuckled. "I guess it's fair since I was only looking out for my own problems at first. And besides, it's good to judge. Being too open and accepting of people can get you in a lot of trouble in this world." Lightning blinked at him, a little shocked.

"'It's good to judge'. I remember you telling me something like that once, sis." Serah smiled. And indeed, Lightning remembered too. In that time when she had finally saw Serah again after all that time.

"Yeah...whatever." Lightning crossed her arms across her chest and turned away.

"So, it's settled then." Snow laughed.

"Since you guys seem pretty hopeless, I should ask now, but do you know how to cook?"

"Of course!" Vanille chirped. Her, Fang and Serah were known as the cooks, and they still remembered many skills programmed into them. "I've made a really good behemoth steak a few times."

"Behemoth steak?" Johannes scratched his head.

"U-uh, she meant steak." Serah covered, smiling nervously. "Us girls have it covered. No need to worry."

"Ah, so you're not completely hopeless then." He chuckled "That's a relief."

"Why don't you let us cook for you tonight since you've showed us such kindness?" Fang offered.

"Well my nefew is staying at mine tonight, and he's a fussy eater, you know." Johannes rubbed his chin.

"Not to worry. We've got it covered." Vanille smiled.

"Alright then. When you're ready, just come on right over. You can start searching for jobs tomorrow now." Everyone nodded and agreed while Johannes left them.

"Alrighty then. Looks like we've got our first dinner date" Snow laughed.

"Yeah, it'll be fun cooking for someone for the first time." Serah smiled. "I'm a little nervous though since this really is the first time it's going to be real..."

"Yeah, and he didn't know what a behemoth steak was, so I don't think their food is the same to ours."

"Don't worry. We'll make it great." Fang calmed the two girls down. "So let us three go and get started, shall we? We'll see you lot later." She waved and the three of them left.

Lightning let out a sigh and fell back into the sofa, rubbing her forehead.

"What's up with you, sis?" Snow asked annoyingly.

"I don't trust him, that's what." She snapped.

"Oh, seriously? The man's doing us a favour." Sazh threw his hands in the air, gesturing the the house itself. "We can finally enjoy life."

"He's the type of man that see's people that look like they need help and exploits that, using it to his own advantage. I don't like that."

"Light..." Hope sighed. "I know you have your issues with him, but give him a chance, at least. Don't ruin it for us all because of a 'feeling' you have. We're not in that place anymore." Lightning frowned, unable to think of a good response. It was true that she wasn't in that world anymore, where she was programmed to know these things. It was different now, so she couldn't argue with Hope.

"Fine."

"Trust Hope to get her to agree." Snow chuckled, patting his shoulder.

After a while of sitting around and chatting (and putting on some casual clothes) they headed over to Johannes, where the girl's were busy cooking.

"Oh,, hey!" Johannes welcomed. "Come meet Yuki." Sat in the living room was a young boy with messy, brown hair and unfocused, hazel eyes. He sat there quietly, not even paying attention to their entrance. "Yuki, come say hello."

"..." The timid boy stood up and walked, standing in front of them. He stared at them for a few moments, not saying a single word.

"Hey, Kid." Snow grinned, about to pet the young boy's head before he pushed Snow's hand away.

"No, don't touch me." He said coldly before going back to his spot and sitting down.

"Uhh...ooookay." Snow shook his hand through the air a few times, unsure of what the kid's problem was.

"Tch, I like him already." Lightning chuckled.

"Oh, you're here! Food is almost ready" Vanille waved a spoon over her head with a smile.

"Good thing too! I'm starving!" Snow fist pumped the air, earning him the rolling of Lightning's eyes.

They sat around, just talking until the girl's finished cooking and preparing. Even Lightning was getting hungry at this point, feeling her own stomach rumble and growl. It had never done that before either, so it took her by shock. Hunger was something non of them had dealt with before, but luckily for them, they didnt have to wait long since the girl's had finished and set the table.

"Come on, guys." Fang called and within a heartbeat, Snow was at the table, followed by the rest.

"This is great!" Johannes chirped, munching away, along with the other's. Serah, however, noticed little Yuki was sat there, his food untouched.

"Hey, Yuki. Are you okay?" She asked, rubbing his back a little since she was sat next to him.

"..." He didn't reply and simply continued to stare at his plate.

"Yuki, you know if you don't eat, you'll make everyone worry. You don't want that, do you? You know people can get mad when they're worried." Serah's words loomed over the young boy and he picked up his fork and slowly began eating. "Is it good?"

"..." He noddded his head, blinking a few times and eating more. Johannes scratched his head, unsure if that had really happened.

"You're good with kids, huh, Serah?" He chuckled. "I can never get tha boy to eat his food"

"Is that so?" Serah frowned, looking at the young boy. "I do hope we don't have that problem often, Yuki." The young boy looked a little scared, shaking his head at Serah. "Good boy" She chirped, patting his head gently.

After dinner and cleaning up, they sat around in Johanne's living room for a while.

"So you'll be going to school together, it seems." Johannes said to Dajh, who was more than excited.

"Yay! You hear that, daddy? I'm going to school"

"Heh, yeah. We'll need to sort that all out tomorrow though." Sazh chuckled, followed by a nod from Johannes.

"Yeah, I'll help you with that tomorrow, don't worry. The rest of you, do your best to look for work. Hope, since you want to go to college, you come with us too and we can sort you out on our way."

"Alright" Hope agreed, followed by a loud yawn from Dajh.

"looks like someone's getting sleepy" Sazh chuckled, patting his sons back as he snuggled beside him.

"Alright, lets head back" Lightning stood to her feet, followed by the rest and headed to their place. They all fell onto the sofa in the living room while Sazh took Dajh up to bed right away since he was too tired to stay up any longer.

"So, we're going to be working soon. It's finally real, huh?" Snow chuckled.

"Yeah. It'll be a challenge, but I'm sure we'll manage." It was quite for a moment, everyone slowly becoming aware of the reality.

"This is real." Serah sighed. "Really real. I'm happy, but I also feel worried."

"Yeah, but that's okay." Vanille smiled, sitting up from her spot on the floor. "We'll make the most of it and do our best. We deserve it, after all."

"She's right. But that aside, I'm beat." Fang stretched her arms above her head, yawning loudly. "I'm hitting the sack and you lot should too. Busy day tomorrow." She left the room, followed by Vanille and Snow after he planted a kiss on Serah's lips.

"Alright, well I'm heading off too."

"Yeah." Lightning, Serah and Hope followed shortly after. It was their first night in this world, so it wouldn't be a surprise if any of them slept at all.

AN: I'm not sure if the ages are 100% accurate, but I did look it up online. Thank you all for the lovely reviews and a special thank you to the one's who's come here from my Lumina page :3 Sorry for another rather boring chapter, but things will pick up in chapter 3.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Work is reality

"Hey, sis?" The two sister's had been laying in silence until the younger finally broke it, getting Lightning's attention. "Do you think we'll really make this work?"

"What do you mean?" Lightning's question made Serah lean up on her elbo, looking at Lightning, who was laying beside her.

"I mean do you think we'll be able to get jobs and pay for the things we need? Do you think we'll be here forever, too? Live out human lives and never go back.."

"Serah."

"Hm?"

"Don't think about that." Lightning chuckled. "It's my job to worry, not yours. I want you to enjoy our time here as much as you can without worrying at all. Leave all that to me."

"Sis.." Serah sighed, falling back into her soft pillow. "It's just so weird. I kinda miss everyone else though. I keep thinking of ways to bring them here"

"Me too, but there's nothing we can do now, you know that."

"Yeah, but.."

"Serah, get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow, so that's enough talking for now." Lightning smiled before rolling over, facing away from Serah and closing her eyes, leaving the younger Farron to lay there, staring up at the cieling with her thoughts mixed. There was a strange feeling brewing up inside Serah, and she didn't know what it was, but she knew it wasn't a nice feeling at all.

"I'm sorry, Noel..." She whispered under her breath before closing her eyes, slipping into a deep sleep.

The gates to the world will never open once closed. The one and only chance they had to be free. To breath life into their frozen lungs, expanding into the mind racing feelings they'd endure. Life has always seemed like a pleasant wonder, something untouched and perfect. But reality was far more cruel than their innocent minds knew. Emotions weren't designed to fill the human heart with joy and happiness, not easily, at least. Though they were going to learn that the hard way.

"Hey, sis." Lightning's eyes fluttered open to see Serah looking down at her with a smile. "Time to get up. Vanille's made everyone breakfast." Lightning pulled her tired body up as Serah jumped out of bed and stretched.

"What time is it? I'm so tired." Lightning yawned, glancing over at a clock that sat on the bedside table. "8:45am, huh?" Lightning furrowed her eyebrows. "I certainly don't like this whole waking up business." She sighed.

"I'm sure we'll get used to it, sis." Serah giggled, unusually chirpy for someone who just woke up, too.

"If you say so." Lightning pulled herself out of bed and stretched, before heading downstairs with Serah and sitting at the table.

"Oh, hey, sleepy heads" Vanille chirped, putting their plates in their seats. Everyone had already started on theirs, unable to wait any longer for the two girl.

"You know, you're harder to wake up than a behemoth" Fang chuckled, smirking at Lightning.

"Shut up." Lightning retorted, taking a bite out of her toast. She still couldn't get used to taste either. Last night was the first time any of them really ate food and tasted it, and they had to pretend they weren't 'blown out of this world' as Snow put it. But it really was strange to feel the taste water their mouths, every bite being filled with flavour and a pleasing taste. Even though toast wasn't that great, Lightning still loved every bite.

"Vanille, your cooking is so good" Hope blurted out as he finished. "Thanks"

"I learned from a book that Johannes let me borrow. It said something about breakfast being a 'kick start' to your day. Perfect, right?" She chirped. Vanille's upbeat voice gave Lightning a bit of a headache. As much as it was nice to see Vanille happy, the fact she was so happy all the time, especially in the morning, made Lightning more than uncomfortable.

"So, what kind of work are you guys looking for?" Snow asked, smiling like an idiot as usual.

"Isn't it a bit early to decide that?" Hope raised an eyebrow. "Since you guys don't really know what's available or what kind of work they have here.."

"Yeah, but a rough idea." Snow shrugged. "I mean, I can probably guess what kind of things you'll all go for" His loud laughter peaked at Lightning's mood, making her scowl.

"What makes you think we'll be anything like that?" She blurted out. Of course, so far, they all were pretty much the same. The characteristics that they were programmed with were still very much part of them now, but were they burned into them? No. It wasn't certain they'd still be the same forever. They might end up changing completely, they might stay the same. Either way, it irritated Lightning that Snow just assumed.

"Come on, Sis. You're still the same as you were before." He chuckled. "Besides, it doesn't matter how we are now. What matters is how we act and go about our lives to make it worth it, right?" His fist was raised to the air. Sure, he certainly hadn't changed. Maybe he was right too? But no, it was impossible for people to not change, especially now they weren't just programmes; they were real.

"Alright, that's enough from you" Fang stood up, stretching her arms above her head. "We have things to do, so lets not waste time." With that, Fang began to strut out and headed upstairs.

"Fang's right. I'm gonna go take a shower" Serah smiled, finishing off her breakfast and pushing out her chair, but before she could go, Snow grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto his lap.

"And where is my good morning kiss?" He chuckled, pulling the younger girl close and grazing his lips against hers.

"Snow, not in front of the kids" Serah blushed emberrassingly as she glanced across the table to Dajh and Hope, who simply frowned and crossed his arms since he certainly wasn't a child anymore.

"Alrighty then." Snow smirked. "How about I come and take a shower with you and show you what happens when I don't get a kiss?" His retort made Serah blush further as she struggled to find anything to say back.

"Ahem." The clearing of Lightning's throat caused the young couple to look over, seeing her irritated face. "No one wants to know or hear that." She spat. "And if you think I'm letting you in mine and Serah's shower to do indecent things to my sister, you have another thing coming."

"Alright, alright. Maybe next time." Snow chuckled, letting Serah up.

"You should come get ready too, sis." Serah reminded her sister.

"Wait, you're going to shower together!?" Hope explaimed, a light blush forming over his cheeks. Apon realising what Hope was saying, Snow and Sazh both felt their faces heat up.

"What? No, you perverts" Lightning destroyed any hope they had of some hot shower action and pushed her chair out. "I'll shower after her." And with that, the two girls left.

"You guys are hopeless." Vanille sighed, shaking her head. But since they had never really been able to feel those things before, it was new to them and they had next to no control over it. Snow was a little more than eager to surpress those feelings.

"Can you believe that idiot?" Lightning frowned, calling to her sister from their room while Serah showered.

"I know, but cut him some slack, sis. We're all knew to this, you know."

"I don't care. If he does anything to make you feel uncomfortable, Serah, you tell me, ok?"

"Alright, sis." Serah giggled. Although Serah was glad her sister was there to break up their moment. Sure, Serah was his fiance...or so she was programmed to be. Was it really what she felt though? She didn't know why she felt glad by her sister's intervention, but she was. But what did she know? She had no idea what it was like to be in love with someone. Maybe she was very much in love with Snow, she just didn't know it yet because of all these new things happening. But that wasn't what was on her mind either. There was a broken promise weighing her heart down, and it had been killing her from the moment she realised he hadn't been free'd with them.

Serah had promised Noel that they'd all be free and they'd all live together and live a good life. Noel would finally be able to bring yeul happiness instead of having her given to him, only to have her taken away cruely. Noel was losing it back in that place. He could remember having Yeul, smiling and in his arms only to have her snatched away again as the game reset itself. Over and over again, he was given a taste of happiness, then it ripped away from him. Serah wanted to help him, but she couldn't do anything; only Lightning could do it. So she made a promise, something for him to keep strong for. But that promise was shattered into a million peices and Serah couldn't stop thinking about it. She wanted Noel to be here with his Yeul. She wanted him to be free from his shackles.

"Alright, we all ready?" Johannes came in, his car keys dancing in his hands as he threw his arms through the air. "I'm really excited for today for some reason."

"Me too!" Snow chuckled, fist pumping the air. "I plan to get a goood job to be able to buy a place for me and Serah. Then I'll save up for our wedding and we'll get married and start a family together."

"That sounds like a good goal, Snow." Johannes chuckled. "You'll all need good goals to keep you going."

"Why?" Hope asked.

"Well, work isn't easy, you know. Many people give up or lose the will to enjoy life because works zaps the life from them. So having a goal for the future, something to work for, it keeps you going. It keeps your mind set."

"What if we can't think of anything?"

"Well you don't need to yet since you wanted to go to college, right?" Johannes patted Hope on the shoulder with a chuckle. "But I'm sure when it comes to the day you need to work, you'll have something you'll want to work for."

"Oh, hey, Johannes." Serah chirped as she came down the stairs in a cute, pink floral top and a pair of white shorts and sandles.

"You look lovely, Serah." Johannes' chuckled, recieving a glare from Snow, who quickly walked over and snaked his arms around Serah's waist as if to ward Johannes off.

"You really do look beautiful, Serah." He chuckled into her ear.

"Uh, thanks." Serah smiled before shaking off Snow's compliment. "Anyways, me and the girls are going to search together if you don't mind, Snow."

"What? But that'll leave me all on my own."

"Don't worry. I'll tag along with you" Fang walked over, resting an arm on Snow's shoulder.

"Alright, team Snow and Fang!" Snow cheered, fist pumping the air for the millionth time.

"You know, we should make a record for how many times a day you do that." Hope shook her head with a smirk.

"Do what?" Snow looked at everyone as they agreed with Hope, laughing at him.

"That fist pump."

"Really? I hadn't noticed" Snow scratched the back of his head, laughing nervously.

"Are we going or what?" Lightning snapped as she walked down the stairs, wearing a simple shirt and jeans.

"Oh, you're here, Lightning." Johannes chuckled. "Alright, we're ready to go. Also, I won't be able to drive you into town every day, so you'll need to either get your own cars or take the bus in the future"

"Got it" Snow nodded.

With that, they all headed outside and squished into Johannes large car.

"It sure is a tight squeeze.." Vanille wheezed, being squished between Fang and Lightning.

"Yeah, I know. But you'll just have to bare with it for now." Johannes chuckled, stratching the back of his head before starting the engine.

"I still don't get why Sazh got the front seat" Lightning complained.

"Because I'm not built for being squished back there. Besides, I have Dajh" Sazh grinned, patting his son's head, who sat beside him in the front with Johannes.

After the silent car journey, they all piled out and Johannes made a 'meet up' time for 5pm and everyone scattered out to do their thing. Hope, Sazj and Dajh stayed with Johannes to get themselves enrolled into schools and colleges, while Vanille, Serah and Lightning went of to find work together, and Fang and Snow went off in another direction to find work.

"So, how do we know where to look?" Lightning asked awkwardly as they stood in front of a rather cute looking maid cafe.

"I guess we just go in and ask." Serah replied, pursing her lips in thought as she stared at the cute scenary in front of them.

"Or they have a 'now hiring' sign in the window." Vanille said, pointing to a small sign in the window.

"Oh, this place is hiring?" Serah gasped. "Come on-"

"W-what? No way" Lightning felt her cheeks blush as Serah tried pulling her into the cafe. "You two go ahead, but I'm going to keep looking."

"Aww, okay." Serah gave a pout. "I can't imagine this would be your sort of thing, sis. But it would've been interesting." Serah giggled before heading in with Vanille.

"Great..." Lightning sighed, scanning the area and walking about. She ended up wondering into a bar filled with people, drinking. Loud chatter filled the entire building. Lightning pushed her way through to the bar, resting on it. She knew this was a big town, but she didn't think there would be so many people here during the morning. It confused her a little, but her mind was suddenly destracted by a familier voice.

"And what can I get you?" The question was directed to a man sat a few stools down from Lightning, but she finally got a look at who the voice belonged to and felt herself jolt up.

"Lebreau!?" She gasped, getting the dark haired woman's attention.

"Lightning? Fancy seeing you here." Lebreau walked over, a bright smile on her face. Lightning wouldn't have recognised her at all if it wasn't for her voice since she had never seen Lebreau wearing normal clothes before. She was wearing a black vest top and some blue jeans. Something simple for a bar maid, but it was typical. It almost made Lightning chuckle. "I owe you one, girl. Here, have a drink on me." Lebreau poured Lightning a drink of beer and handed it to her.

"Uh, thanks...but I'm a little shocked to see you here." Lightning raised an eyebrow at the woman.

"At a bar? Really?" She laughed.

"No, I mean...here." Lightning hushed her voice a little, leaning in. "We didn't think anyone else made it out since it was only us that woke up on the field."

"A field?" Lebreau was now the one with a raised eyebrow. "I actually woke up in my bosses front yard. We're going with the story I was drunk the night before and don't have a home, so he's letting me stay with him and work here to pay."

"That's great, I guess. But if you're here, that means the other's can be too, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. I was on my own though and thought everyone just went to different places. I guess not."

"We all thought we were the only ones and that you lot didn't make it out." Lightning sighed. "Well that's a weight off my shoulders."

"I'm sure everyone's enjoying life, Light." Lebreau reassured. "I guess you guys were just together because you always have been."

"Huh?" Lightning thought for a moment, but maybe Lebreau was right. They had been together since the beginning. Even when they haven't been physically together, they've been through the same ordeal, had the same goals. They were always going to be together.

"Well where are you guys staying, anyway?" Lebreau asked.

"Some guy took us in, but we have to get jobs in order to pay him rent, which is fair enough." Lightning frowned. "But I don't trust him."

"Lightning, we're not in that place anymore, you know. Not everyone that helps out of the blue is a bad guy. But if it's work you're looking for, I'm sure I can pull a few strings and get you here"

"Oh?" It peaked Lightning's interest.

"Yeah, it'll be fun working together."

"Well I guess it wouldn't be too bad working here. Better than in one of those cafes..." Lightning frowned.

"Alright. Well just wait here a sec, okay?" Lebreau smiled and walked into the back, leaving Lightning to herself.

Meanwhile, Fang and Snow had managed to find their jobs easily. Snow was going to be working in a workshop, helping to fix cars and things, while Fang was going to be working at the local gym. She still needed to do a few more things, and the only thing that got her the job was her small top that revealed her steel abs that stunned the gym members and trainers.

"I can't wait to see you in a maid outfit, Serah." Snow chuckled, making Serah blush. They had met up again and were waiting for Lightning to pop up at some point since Serah wanted to see how she was.

"What are you all doing standing around?" Lightning walked over, looking a little more satisfied with herself.

"Oh, hey, sis." Serah smiled. "We were waiting for you. Any luck?"

"Yeah, the local bar. Also, there's someone I want you all to see." Lightning smirked. "Follow me." She led them into the bar that had quietened down a little now and sat them at a table.

"Hey, guys!" Lebreau walked over, setting down a trey of drinks for them.

"Lebreau!" Serah gasped, jumping up and hugging her. "Lebreau, you're here too!" She was almost in tears.

"Serah, calm down." Lebreau laughed. "It's like I said to Lightning, we might've all been spread out over the place." When Serah finally let go, both girls sat down.

"So it was just you, huh? Not the rest of Nora?" Snow sighed. "Seems weird since you guys are always together."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure we'll all see each other again." Lebreau smiled. "Besides, we're meeting now, so let's enjoy it. Lightning will be working with me, too."

"Good to hear she's in good company" Serah smiled.

"So does that mean we'll get free drinks?" Fang laughed, only half joking.

"Actually yeah, it does. Well, you'll get discount, at least."

"Whaaaa? Yay!" Vanille cheered. They sat around, chatting for hours about pointless things. Lebreau had to go do a shift every now and then along with Lightning, but they spent most their time chatting away. Before they knew it, it was almost five and they had to leave.

"It was good seeing you guys. Make sure to come again soon, and bring Sazh, Hope and Dajh with you next time." Lebreau waved, seeing them off.

"Alright, we will!" Vanille waved.

They met up with Johannes to give him the good news, and of course, he was delighted. Hope and Dajh had also been enrolled into school and college, although Hope had to go back for a few more things and Sajh was going to have to find a small, part time job to work around Dajh.

"That's excellent, everyone." He smiled. "Now lets get back before rush hour, ok?" With that, they all piled back into Johannes car and went back, falling into the sofa with exhausted groans and moans. They hadn't realised how tired they were until they felt the soft comfort of the chair.

"So when do you guys start work?" Hope asked, being the only one who wasn't exhausted.

"Next week" They all said in union, making Hope jump a little.

Next week they were going to be working, just like everyone else had to. It was real now, and they were probably going to be tired like this for a while, but they were ready for it. They were just starting out, so they knew it was going to be tough. Thanks to Johannes, it was going to be a little easier on them, of course. But eventually they'd have to leave Johannes and spread their own wings. Seeing Lebreau had also gave them a boost, some hope that the other's were out there, somewhere. For Serah, it was all she needed to feel like she could be happy with being alive.

AN: Yay, I finally got this done (Literally took me all day because I kept getting destracted). And also, I want to say thanks to all the lovely reviews :3 I'll do shout outs in the next chapter, maybe. But right now, I just want to get this published and out of the way.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: A distance has found it's way between us.

"So?" Lightning frowned, her arms folded while she leaned against the door frame to her and Serah's room. "Care to explain what earlier was about?"

"Sis..you're not just going to forget, huh?" Serah sighed, standing up and casting her gaze downwards.

"When you make me lie to that idiot you call your fiance?" Serah cringed at the words 'fiance'

"Look, I'm sorry for making you do that, but I needed a break."

"From what?" Lightning walked into the room, dropping her arms by her side and closing the door. "You can tell me if he's done something to upset you, sis."

"No, it's not that." Serah sighed, plopping down on the end of their bed. Luckily for them, Lumina had already left the room and was with Vanille, looking at all her clothes with her. Vanille and Serah had both decided to take Lumina clothes shopping someday this week since she was still wearing the same gothic lolita dress.

"Then what?" Lightning asked, sitting beside her sister.

"It's just that...I've been so busy with work, you know? And I made some friends who work at the same cafe as me and Vanille. They invited both of us, but Vanille turned them down because she said she had some things to do..." Serah's gaze longed out again. "Of course I said yes though. It's nice to make friends here and go to places with people that aren't like me. It's nice to be accepted by normal people. But Snow doesn't understand that and expects me to spend all my free time with him."

"I see. So he's being too much for you?"

"Kinda, yeah." Serah looked at her sister. "Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with you guys, really. You're my family, I love you guys...but it's nice to hang out with people from outside our circle, too...does that make me a bad person?"

"No, it's completely normal, Serah. We've all spent so long wanting to be together and enjoy life, and now we have that. But we've also got a taste of freedom, something we can't all grasp together. We all have our seperate places to be, but we'll still all be together. We live together, after all."

"Try telling that to Snow." Serah sighed, slopping her shoulders. "He just cuts me off with 'come on, we'll do something instead' or 'nah, lets do this' and it's driving me mad."

"Who knew?" Lightning chuckled, shaking her head.

"Huh? What's so funny?"

"It's nothing...just that the couple everyone adored and thought would get married and have kids are having trouble already. Seems like love isn't an easy thing to deal with in reality."

"If you say so." Serah frowned, pursing her lips and turning her gaze away. For some reason, her heart felt like it was being weighed down. Yes, she loved Snow...or so she was programmed to. The 'love' she felt for Snow had always been fake; nothing but data put into her programme. But was it what she felt? She had tried enjoying her time with him, but she couldn't. Everytime he wrapped his arms around her, there was no feeling of protection or warmth. She just felt uncomfortable, like she wanted to break away from his embrace. Surely that wasn't love, right? But how could she possibly know? She didn't know how to feel at all. The things they had all felt up until now were all so knew to them. They still haven't been here long either, so they were still getting used to these new things.

"Well, I'm really tired, so I think I'm going to take a shower and head to bed." Serah forced a smile, which she had been doing a lot lately. But she was used to that since even when she was trapped in that place, her smiles were nothing but empty, fake encodes, forcing her to smile. The only difference was, this one hurt. The fake smiles of this world weighed her down with each one, filling her heart with more and more pain. Sometimes she just wanted to cry out and scream, but she knew she'd only worry her friends, her family. So she kept it all in. She bottled it all up and bit her tongue. It was the hardest thing she'd ever have to do, and she knew she'd have plenty more. However, she was sure that with time, this feeling would fade away and she'd finally be happy, just like the first time she stepped into this world.

The next day, everyone headed down to the bar that Lightning worked at on weekdays and hung out with Lebreau, letting her know about the spa trip and how she was invited. She agreed, of course, and was super excited. But for some reason, it suited her. To get excited over a spa trip or anything like that seemed like it was normal for Lebreau. She seemed like the type to enjoy it, at least. Lumina was also coming, but she wasn't as keen as Lebreau. No one was as keen as Sazh and Lebreau.

"Us girls will have a lot of fun!" Lebreau smiled, taking a sip from her drink. Since it was sunday, the bar was practically empty, so it wasn't really a working day for Lebreau.

"What about the guys?" Sazh asked. "We'll have fun too."

"Yeah, but we won't be with the girls." Johannes added. "There will be a wall that seperates the hot springs for the girls and guys, for example."

"What?" Sazh had the most dissapointed look on his face, making everyone laugh.

"You seriously didn't know?" Lightning chuckled. "Even after all that research you've been doing?"

"Yeah, well, we'll still get pampered by pretty women, right?"

"Most likely" Johannes nodded with a chuckle.

"Alright, then bring on the spa" Sazh cheered, making everyone shake their heads and laugh at him. All Dajh and Yuki could do was exchange looks and shrug, not really understanding the concept of what was being said.

When everyone left the bar, they spent the remainder of their sunday just relaxing around the house, doing their own thing before they all headed to bed, dreading the early wake in the morning. Even Lumina and Hope were up early, since Hope wanted to get Lumina enrolled as soon as he could.

"Goodnight, sis." Serah mumbled, nuzzling into her pillow and closing her eyes.

"Night." Lightning replied, staring up at the cieling. The night had always worked a mysetery to her. She had found that when she stayed awake, it went by painfully slow. But when she slept, it was over before she knew it and her alarm was beeping in her ears abnoxiously. But she just didn't understand it at all and felt a little stupid asking Johannes about it, so she continued to let the questions linger. She was sure it was linked to the whole 'having a good time makes time fly by' rule, but all she was doing was sleeping. Then again, she did love sleep. It was hard to resist, too. When ever her eyes felt heavy...she just...couldn't fight it...

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP

"Wha?" Her eyes popped open to the loud noise, the sunlight shining in. "Ugh.." She pulled her arm up, pressing the button to shut the damn thing up. She glanced beside her to see her sister shifting as she also woke up, the alarm having woke her up too.

"Morning, sis." Lightning smiled.

"Yeah." Serah giggled, sitting up. "Time to work" She yawned, stretching her arms above her head. Every morning was the same. The two sisters always greeted each other pleasently, seemingly in a good mood. "Oh!" Serah's eyes met the sleeping Lumina on a spare bed Johannes had let them use for Lumina. Her breathing was steady and all movement was still, indicating she was still fast asleep.

"I keep forgetting she's here too." Lightning chuckled. "Anyway, if she's a heavy sleeper, good for us." And she was, indeed, a heavy sleeper.

The two girls got out of bed and did their usual, morning routines that they had slipped into not long after arriving in this world before they finally headed out to work. Vanille and Serah left together, and Lightning left half hour after.

"Hey, Lumina..." poke, poke. "Lumina!"

"Huh?" Lumina was woken up by Hope, who was calling her name and poking her sides, looking down at her. "Hope? Why did you wake me up?" She scowled, pulling the blanket over her head."

"Come on, Lumi. We have to go enroll you before it's too late."

"Then I don't want to enroll! I want to sleep, so go away!"

"Jeez...and we thought Lightning would be the bad tempered one in the mornings.." He sighed. "Alright, but then that means you'll be all on your own while everyone's working.." With that, Lumina sat up, her messy, pink hair sticking out in all directions.

"Fine." She spat, glaring at the boy.

"Heh...sorry, Lumina..but you'll have to get used to it."

"Don't push it." She dragged herself out of bed, had breakfast before taking a shower and getting dressed into some clothes Vanille let her borrow until they took her shopping for her own clothes.

"..." Hope blinked, staring at her as she walked into the room.

"What?"

"Nothing...it's just weird seeing you in something other than that black dress."

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "Well get used to it." Jeez, she still hasn't got rid of her bad temper? She got up an hour ago.

"Right, right." Hope sighed. "Lets go. Johannes will give us a lift there." With that, Hope led the way to Johannes and all three got in the car and off they went.

When they arrived, Hope and Lumina made their way to the main desk, where Lumina had to fill out several papers with the help of Hope. Of course, Hope had to make up a lot of the things and since he had already delt with the whole 'no records of them existing' issue, he knew how to sort it out for Lumina, too. It took all day, but they managed.

"That was way too long." Lumina complained as they headed out, Hope carrying Lumina's course information papers and her badge in his bag. "This better be worth it."

"It will be, I promise...or at least, it will be now that we'll be together" He chuckled, making Lumina turn to him and raise an eyebrow.

"Was that some kind of cheesy attempt to whoo me over?"

"What? No, no!" Hope denied frantically. "No, I was just nervous about going all on my own, so I figured it would be more fun with a friend."

"Good" Lumina smirked, clearly back to her usual self. "But if it was, it totally worked." She teased, making Hope's cheeks flush a red colour, which had never happened to the poor boy before.

"W-what?" He hurried after her as she skipped off. "A-anyway, lets go get something to eat, ok? We can go to the bar that Lightning works at, or the cafe Vanille and Serah work at."

"Hmm?" Lumina turned on her heels, facing him. "You just want to see them in their maid outfits, don't you, Hope?" She continued to tease.

"No, I just thought it would be nice.." His blush deepened.

"Don't deny it! I might be younger than you and a girl, but I'm smarter than all of you on this world, you know. I know how a young boys mind works" She giggled.

"Don't say it like that!"

"Like what?" She tilted her head, looking as innocent as she could.

"Like I'm thinking of naughty things!"

"Oh, but I never said that" She smirked. "Hehe, so you were."

"N-no! Gah, I can't take this anymore!" His whole face was red and to hide it, he hurried passed Lumina, pulling her along behind him so she couldn't see his face that was now in a clear, embarrassed frown.

"Welcome to cafe sweet tooth!" Vanille chirped, greeting them in. "Oh, hey, you two."

"Er, hey, Vanille...table to two, please." He had finally managed to calm down, but had to fight the blush from appearing again.

"Right this way." She nodded, leading them to a table, where they took their seats and took out a small notepad and pen. "So, are you two on a date, or something?"

"N-no way" Hope blushed, avoiding eye contact with both girls.

"I was just teasing, Hope." Vanille giggled.

"Oh, I wouldn't. He gets really worked up." Lumina smirked.

"Hehe, I see. Well, what will you be having." She smiled, taking their orders before walking off. Hope scanned the scenary with his eyes before spotting Serah.

"So, you wanted to see Serah over Lightning, huh?" Lumina smirked. "I wonder how Lightning would feel about that."

"Hey, what are you getting at? Besides, it's not like that. This place is closer." Hope blushed.

"What do you mean 'what am I getting at?' You looking at Serah in such a way is a death wish unless you're perfect." She giggled.

"...right." Hope frowned. "You really do like to tease, don't you?"

"Well when you make it so easy, how can I resist?"

"I see." Hope chuckled. "Well then, I'll make sure to not make it so obvious."

"Good luck with that." She smirked before their food was finally braught over. After they finished up there, they headed back to the house and just chilled. Hope showed Lumina the gaming console in his and Snow's room and they both played on co-op and 2p games until everyone else got home. Of course, Hope let her win a few times since he didn't want to see her rage on him when he kept winning.

A chrisp morning, birds chirping. People busy to get to work and school. Yes, the new school year had started and everyone was busy. About a week before, Johannes took Lumina, Hope and Dajh shopping for the things they'd need, and since it was September, the seasons were changing again, getting colder, so he had to buy them some coats and scarves to keep them warm. He didn't mind for buying it for them, since Hope offered to pay him back once his part time job kicked in, and Sazh was going to pay him back for Dajh's stuff. Hope had offered to pay for Lumina's too, but Johannes let it slide since he hadn't actually baught anything for her yet anyway. Serah and Vanille spent their money to buy Lumina clothes, so Johannes didn't have to lend her money at all. Lumina did hate people spending money on her though, especially while eveyone else had their own money. She felt like the only one, so she wanted to earn her own money too, at some point.

"Alright, have a nice day." Johannes waved, dropping Hope and Lumina off outside the college. "Text me when you've finished and I'll come get you by here again."

"Alright, thank you." Hope nodded. Johannes then drove off, leaving the two to stand and face the large building, both their hearts racing, although Lumina was a little better at hiding it. "Are you nervous?"

"A little...you?" She tilted her head up towards him.

"Yeah.." He replied.

"Well, lets go." Hope nodded in agreement and the two walked in together. Hope had to resist the urge to grab Lumina's lonely hand that hung at her side as she walked on several accounts, and he wasn't really sure why he wanted to, but he assumed it was the nervousness of it all; he just wanted comfort.

"Hey, Hope..." Lumina stopped, looking up at a door. "I think this is our room." He turned and looked at the number.

"I think you're right." He peeked in through the window to see people were already in there. "Looks like we're late."

"But I think that's okay, since it's our first day, don't you?" She smiled, opening the door and pulling him with her. The teacher stopped talking and faced them, all the students also staring.

"Sorry we're late, but we got a little lost. This is our first day here." Hope chuckled nervously.

"It's alright, don't worry." The teacher smiled. "Just come sit down. What's your names?"

"I'm Hope Estiem, and this is Lumina Farron."

"That is two odd names...well nice to meet you." And just like that, they were accepted in. They both sat together, listening carefully to their class. However, Lumina got bored every now and then and would get destracted by something happening outside and would glance off out the window, or play with her pencils on the desk and Hope had to often, snap her back to reality to pay attention.

A few weeks went by, and the two became less nervous and started to really enjoy their time there. They didn't make many friends and just stuck together since no one in their class seemed like the type of people they wanted to become friends with. Even Lumina, who was always known by everyone, was content with being on her own with Hope. Of course she was very outspoken, and everyone in the class knew this by now. She'd often be a bit mischievious and stir drama between the odd classmate without anyone knowing, but Hope let her off since he enjoyed watching it.

They only went in three days a week, too, so on the extra two days that they didn't do anything on, they hung out, going places, staying in and gaming or studying. It was simple, but they both enjoyed it. Lumina had never really enjoyed being in someone's company as much as she did Hope's, and he was the same. Of course, they enjoyed spending the evenings and weekends with Lightning and all, but when it was just them two, it was calm and peaceful. They didn't even have to talk a lot of the times, just being in each other's company was enough for them.

But everything changes, and it was coming closer to the deadline for their spa trip and Hope hadn't put any savings in, so he was finally able to start on his part time job. It was great for him, since he finally got to have his own earnings, but it also meant he had less time for Lumina. On days they were off, he was working, so Lumina was left to kill time on her own. Lumina couldn't help but feel irritated towards Hope, and it made her angry at herself for feeling that way. She understood he wanted to earn money and was working, and she also knew they couldn't spend every moment together, but she couldn't help but feel left behind by him.

"Hey, Lumi." Johannes smiled, noticing her sprawled out on the sofa. "I just came to get some tea bags, if that's ok."

"Yeah, take as many as you need." She mumbled, staring blankly at the cieling. Johannes walked through to the kitchen, taking a few before noticing Lumina's odd behaviour.

"Are you okay, Lumi?" He asked, walking over and sitting on the other chair. "You seem a little...not like yourself."

"I'm fine." She replied with a drag to her voice. "Just really bored."

"Ah, I see. You never know what to do with your time off, huh?" He chuckled.

"Something like that."

"Hmm?"

"Well..." She sat up, frowning slightly. "I want to go to work, too."

"Sorry, Lumina. It's that time of the year, so not many places are looking for part timers. But if you're bored, you can come help me out at my place. I need to clear out my garden before winter finally gets here."

"Why?"

"Well, since autumn is practically over, my garden is a mess with leaves and dead plants. So I have to clear it out so it doesn't look tacky after the snow."

"Snow?" Lumina tilted her head. Of course, they had never heard of snow before...other than that idiot. Snow wasn't something they'd ever heard of seen.

"You know, the white stuff that falls from the sky during winter. It's really cold, and when it melts, if my garden was is full of leaves, it looks tacky."

"I see.." Lumina thought to herself. Snow sounded like it was pretty cool. "Well I guess it's something to do until I can get a job." She nodded, jumping up.

"Great. Hey, we can sort out the garden to this place too, since no one will have the time"

"Hey, Johannes?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't you work?"

"No...I used to, but..heh...it's a long story." He looked away, his gaze low as he recalled a memory.

"I've clearly got time, so please?" Lumina smiled. Sure, she was all up for helping Johannes, but she also wanted to hear this story. Not just because it would kill time, but because of the look on Johannes' face when he recalled it. It set off a spark inside Lumina, a pain in her chest. It was a look she recognised from herself from time to time. When she was sat alone and recalling apon the days Hope and her would spend their time together. Of course, it wasn't that long ago at all. He had only started working two weeks ago, so it wasn't long at all, yet it already felt like a distant memory of a better time. To think they had started college almost two months ago now.

"Alright, but at my place and AFTER I've made some tea." He chuckled

"Alright, deal" Lumina agreed, jumping up to her feet and slipping on her shoes. Johannes couldn't help but chuckle at Lumina's eager attitude as she dragged him over to his place. He made them both some tea and sat on the opposite sofa from Lumina, staring into his drink.

"Alright, so you want to know the story of how I became like this?"

"Yes." Lumina nodded.

"Ok, but Lumina? You can't tell anyone. It's a personal story that I don't want anyone to know." Lumina nodded to let him know that it would go no further than herself. Anyone else would be weary, knowing Lumina would, in some way, reveal it. But this time, Lumina's promise was real.

She waited, staring at Johannes as he recalled it again, taking a deep breath

"Alright then..."

-Johannes flashback (his P.O.V) -

I was a bright young man, living the life of a college student. I had a great part time job that left me with a lot of money, and my future was a bright one. My father had baught me the house I currently live in, but because I was greedy back then, I didn't understand what it meant to just waste money, and so, I baught another one next to mine. I had parties often, getting into wrecks with a careless mind, but I still managed to keep my high grades and perfect attendance. But one day, I had completely messed up. I got into a huge fight with my parents, telling them I didn't need them. It was over something stupid, like them forbidding I had parties and they wanted me to give up my second house, but I never did. We didn't speak for a week, and I continued to disobey their wishes. Even my older sister had come down to check on me for them, but I turned her away with cruel words.

After the week came the weekend, and I ignored all my sister's calls until one day, I finally decided to answer to yell at her, but I never got the chance because she was in tears and could hardly get a word out. All I could make up were a few words that cut into me like knives.

"Mum, dad...they're gone." I can dropped my phone, got into my car and drove as fast as I could to their house. I almost crashed a few times due to the roads being slippery from the ice. I barged in to see my sister on the floor, crying her eyes out with one of my mother's old dressed in her hands. And then I knew, I knew my worste fears had been realised. I feel beside her and we both just cried, hugging each other all night. We didn't speak at all; just cried. After that, my grades fell and I knew I wasn't going to pass my subject. My sister was living in my second house for a while too, and was wreckless. She was sleeping around with random guys, and I'd often get into nasty fights with them. I almost killed one of them once after I found out he had gotten my sister pregnant.

Since my sister couldn't work, and the father to her baby was useless, I had to work to help her out. I ended up dropping out of college to work full time for my sister and her unborn child. Then before I knew it, Mike was born. My first nefew...I can still remember the day I held him in my arms. But luckily, about a month after he was born, his father stepped up, moved in with my sister and decided to work and earn money for his new family like a real man. I went back into college, convinced I could get my life back on track, but I couldn't.

That's when I met her...

She always came to help me with whatever I needed and before I knew it, my grades were sky rocketing again. My future looked bright once again all thanks to this girl. We ended up spending all our time together, and before I knew it, I had fallen in love with her.

almost three years had passed since my parents died, and my first nefew was already two. It was all coming back to me on that winter, when I decided to confess my feelings to the girl I loved. I wanted to be with her all the time. She was the only thing in this mad world that made sense to me, and I wanted to protect her with everything I had. I wanted to keep the one thing I loved safe, but I couldn't even do that.

"Johannes, why are we out here?" I led her down a snowy path, her hand held tightly in mine. I couldn't stop smiling, my heart skipping in my chest. It was such a chrisp afternoon, the sun was high in the sky, beaming down on us with it's light and snow was everywhere.

"We're almost there, don't worry." I continued to walk until we came to a peaceful little place with a large, frozen cherry blossom tree in the centre. I turned around, taking both her hands in mine and smiled.

"Johannes, what's going on? You've been acting really funny." Her sweet laughter was like music to my ears, only confirming that I loved this girl and wanted to spend every minute with her.

"I know, but it's because there's something I want to ask you.." I was confident in this moment. There was nothing that could stop me. "I'm in love with you, and I have been for a while now..." As I said it, I could see her eyes widen a small gasp as she clasped her hands over her mouth. It almost looked like she was about to cry. "So, I have to say it now...will you go out with me?"

"Yes" her small voice rang through, her reply filling me with a happiness I had never felt before. I took her in my arms, and swung her around before I finally got to kiss her soft lips after all this time. I was finally able to feel her warmth, to protect her. She was finally my one special thing that no one could snatch away from me. I loved her so much.

But...

Crack...

"Huh?"

Snap!

A branch from the tree fell, almost hitting us both, but instead, crushing my legs. I was able to protect her for the first time, but now I was unable to move. She tried pulling the branch off, but it didn't work, so she did all she could do: call someone for help. Of course, all the way out here, she couldn't get signal and had to walk off a little before she got it at all. And as if in slow motion, I watched helplessly as the ground swallowed her up, unable to do anything by scream out her name.

My body was filled with pure rage and I found a strength I had never had before.

"No! There's no way you're taking her from me. You're not taking anymore people from me!" I yelled so loud that birds flew away and I was able to throw the tree branch off me, limping to where she had fallen. I dove in, without thinking at all. I figured, if she was going to die because I couldn't save her, then I'd die too. We either both come out, or none of us do.

The cold was making it hard for me to move, and slowly, I felt myself slipping away. This was it, wasn't it?

"Hey! Wake up!" I was snapped back by a voice calling out to me and several flashing lights. I couldn't help but call her name over and over again until I fell asleep again and woke back up in a hospital.

I felt warmth on my body, but inside, I felt nothing. The only warmth I wanted was hers, but she was nowhere to be seen. Instead, by the side of my bed, was my sister, crying her eyes out with her now fiance comforting her and holding their baby.

"Johannes!" She cried, hugging me and sending a shock of pain through my body. "..sorry..I'm just so glad you're alive."

"Sis...where is she?" I didn't care about myself, or the fact my sister was there. All I wanted, was to know she was alive too. I didn't think I could go on living if she had died.

"Johannes..." The silence said it all. I turned my gaze outside the window, the perfect day that now held nothing but grieving and pain to me. For me, life had become pointless. The one thing I loved was gone. I had lost my parents, and now the girl I loved. I felt numb, like the feelings inside me were ripped out. I couldn't even cry over her death.

I had realised that life was cruel. It would give you something beautiful, and snatch it away from you within a second. It would crush you without hesitation.

But I continued to live. I ended up having a lot of debt from the hospital, since I had to have so much work done on me, but I was also unable to work because of these injuries. Not only had I lost the love of my life, my means of living and happiness, but I had lost the ability to work. I had a weekly paycheck given to people in my condition, but between living and paying my house bills, there wasn't enough to pay the hospital bills. And on top of that, the bill got higher due to check ups. I was willing to just give up, but then my sister fell pregnant again with Yuki.

It was around Yuki's birth that the father to her child passed away in an accident, so once again, I was helping my sister with my own money. It drove her to depression and on one account, she almost killed herself. She was rushed to hospital, and again, my bill was doubled. I was angry at my sister and we didn't speak for a long time. How could she does something so selfish? But we started talking eventually.

That's when she met her sugar daddy. Her was a rich guy, a little older, too. I was against it, but she ended up running away with him and leaving her kids with me. Between looking after them and paying bills, I had no money left.

Mike grew up pretty fast and before I knew it, he was off. Then I was left with Yuki. It was made a lot easier without Mike, but I missed him. He was thirteen, living at his friends house because it was closer to the school. Yuki was only five at the time, too.

And here we are, to this present day. Yuki's now six, almost seven, and Mike is coming fifteen. He still visits, but he's far more mature for his age. My sister is still off, and I'm almost twenty six years old. Life is going by much faster now, and the anger and pain I felt from all those years ago has slowly faded to nothing.

-normal P.O.V-

"...Johannes.." Lumina whispered, in complete shock. "I'm...I'm so sorry."

"Don't be." Johannes chuckled. "It's all in the past now, right? In the last year, I've really been able to move on thanks to my nefews."

"They kept you busy and took your mind off things, huh?" Lumina smiled.

"Yeah, they did. That's why I'll continue to protect Yuki, and Mike whenever he comes here."

"When is he due to visit?"

"In a few weeks, for his birthday. He was born in the season I hated most." Johannes chuckled.

"Winter..which is the season you lost your parents and her, right?"

"Right..."

"I'm sorry, but have you noticed?"

"Hmm?

"After your parents died, Mike was born, and after she died, Yuki was born. Maybe it was your calling, the thing telling you not to give up?" Lumina pursed her lips.

"That's an interesting way of thinking of it, you know." Johannes smiled, taking one last sip from his tea. "Well, lets get on with this garden."

Johannes' story was all Lumina could think of all day, even while she helped him with the gardens. They had them both finished before everyone came home from work and school, but even so, Lumina couldn't bring herself to be her usual self after hearing it. It pained her to see Johannes smiling so brightly and laughing like it was nothing but a bad dream. It finally hit her how cruel this reality was and how it really was no better from the world they lived in, in fact, she thought it was worse. Back in that place, there were no feelings, no pain to be felt, just a consious decision to want life. A decision they were all surely going to regret with time. Lumina, however, was already at that point. Ever since Hope had become busy, she had become lonely. A feeling she knew she was programmed to feel, she now felt for real. It was eating her away, making her want to cry, but she didn't. And now, after hearing Johannes' story, she knew how lucky she was to have Hope there at all, even if it did hurt her.

"You guys did a great job." Hope chuckled, looking out the window at their garden. "Nice to see you're doing something productive with your time, Lumina" He directed his smile to Lumina, but she was too lost in thought, her gaze longing at the floor. "Hey, Lumi?" He waved a hand in front of her.

"Huh?" She snapped out of her thoughts, glancing around. "Oh.."

"Are you okay, Lumina?" Hope asked.

"I'm sure she's just tired, Hope. We've been busy all day." Johannes chuckled, covering for Lumina. He knew she just needed to be left to her thoughts, since hearing a story like that would leave an unpleasent, lingering feeling for a while.

"Mhm, so I'm going to get some sleep" She smirked before twirling around and heading upstairs, where she fell into her bed. The soft pillow carressed her head while the blanket hugger her with it's warmth. She curled up into a ball, unable to handle these emotions anymore and cried quietly to herself. She didn't even know why she was crying, but she couldn't stop herself.

Not long after she headed to bed, everyone started returning from work.

"Where's Lumina?" Serah asked, after everyone had finally got their drinks and was relaxing in the living room.

"I thought it was a little more quiet the usual." Lightning chuckled.

"She headed off to bed." Hope replied. "She had helped Johannes clear the gardens today, so she was really tired." Despite telling them the truth her knew, he still felt like he was lying to them. It left an uneasy feeling in Hope.

"Aw, then I hope she's okay in the morning. I wanted to take her shopping!" Serah chirped. "You're coming, right Vanille?"

"You bet'cha" Vanille beamed.

"And what about you, Hope. Got any plans for tomorrow?" Snow asked. "If not, lets head to the field and play a few games." 

"Sorry, but I'm seeing someone from work tomorrow." He chuckled.

"Oh? Work on a saturday?" Lightning cocked an eyebrow.

"No, no...heh." He chuckled again, this time a little more nervous "It's just a friendly meet up with an old friend"

"Oh, you go, Hope!" Snow cheered, nudging him. "What's her name? What's she look like? Oh, she's not way older, is she? If you're into older women, fine, but, uh..know your limits.."

"Snow...it's not like that at all." Hope rolled his eyes.

"Name?" Lightning demanded. She still had that protective, mothering care over the young boy, so she felt the need to know about this girl.

"It's Alyssa. It turns out she's working at where I work, too."

"Her? The one that decided to team up with Caius and send my sister into a trap!?" Lightning scowled.

"Come on, sis. Everyone deserves a second chance. And besides, she was programmed to do that." Serah reasoned.

"I still don't like her." Lightning crossed her arms, unable to believe it.

"Well anyway, I'll bring her back so you guys can all meet her and see for yourselves that she's changed." Even if Hope said that, there was no way Lightning was just going to accept that yet. She wanted to hear an apology to Serah, and it had to be meaningful.

The next day came and Serah and Vanille had dragged Lumina with them to the bus stop, heading to the mall. Lumina had returned back to her normal, michievious self, too.

"Why didn't Lightning come along?" Lumina pouted "Did she really not want to spend any girl time with us?"

"No, she was going to hang with Fang today, which is fine since both of them are pretty useless when it comes to shopping." Serah giggled.

"Yeah, and I think Snow, Johannes and Sazh are taking Yuki and Dajh to a soft play area. Cute, right?"

"What about Hope?" Lumina asked.

"He's going on a date." Serah smirked. "You've not met Alyssa, have you?"

"Isn't that the girl that tricked you and Noel by teaming up with Caius?" Serah nodded in reply to Lumina's question. "And Hope's going on a date with her? I always knew that boy had terrible taste, but jeez." She sighed.

"Well, it's not actually a date. They're just meeting up and all, and you'll get to actually meet her later." Vanille added. "Snow made it out like a date though."

"Well at least I'll have something to tease him over" Lumina smirked, but inside, the fact it wasn't actually a date gave her a big relief, and she wasn't sure why, so she shook it off.

"Speaking of which, you two haven't been spending much time together now. I mean, you guys have become really close since you started college together, but since he's been working, you've had less time." Serah pursed her lips. "So you're okay with him spending his saturday with another girl?"

"You make it sound like we're dating, Serah." Lumina raisned an eyebrow. "Don't get me wrong, I had fun with him, but I'm not bothered by it. Nothing bothers me, you know."

"Wish I could be like that, Lumina. You're lucky." Serah giggled.

"Why, is something bothering you, Serah?" Vanille asked, both girls leaning in towards Serah.

"No, nothing at all. Not now, at least." She smiled, waving her hand in a dismissive way.

The three girls continued to shop for their winter wear, making sure to get warm scarves, coats, shoes and gloves. In a world with so many feeling people, we forget that everyone has their own battles to fight. Everyone's mind is plagued with one thing or another, with their own pasts and their futures. But on the outside, they're just passing faces. Shells of people we know nothing about.

AN: A rather feelsy chapter, huh? I don't know if it seems a bit rushed either, but I needed to get Lumina and Hope's budding friendship out there before the spa trip that will be coming fairly soon for other evens *wink, wink* no, nothing dodgy, really...just plot. And just like in this chapter, certain characters will be the main focus over others just to give them a little more developement (My typing is going crazy today, so any misspelt or typo's, please ignore). Anyway, you've got a deep, meaningful chapter to Lumina's character and a kind of feel to why she's the way she is (in later chapters, it'll make sense) and for characters that aren't in much, like Fang, Snow, Lightning (she's been rather quiet lately, I know) will be used more, don't worry. It's just certain characters need a bit of mystery to their lives and I can't just exploit their lives otherwise it'll give away certain things I don't want to be revealed yet.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: False feelings

"Carefull, son." Sazh called out to Dajh, who was busy climbing up the squishy blocks, followed by Yuki.

"Don't worry, Sazh. Soft play areas tend to have very few accidents." Johannes chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah...I know. But I still worry."

"These places are pretty neat, huh?" Snow nodded, glancing around. "When me and Serah have our own kid, I wanna bring it here."

"Easy, tiger. Having a kid ain't so easy. Don't go thinking it's a walk in the park." Sazh reasoned. "Besides, you still got years."

"I hope I don't have to wait too long."

"Have you two even kissed?" Johannes asked. "I mean, you hardly hug..."

"I know, but we're adjusting to our new lives. We'll have time to refire our spark soon enough." Snow chuckled. "Everything's been leading up to it."

"Well, don't go rushing in ahead, is all I'm saying." Johannes warned. "It's never that simple."

"Entertainment corner is now open." A voice called through the intercom and all the children began to flee towards a corner filled with bean chairs and squishy block seats. Even Dajh and Yuki headed over, curiously.

"Ain't that something? The two are thick as thieves." Sazh chuckled.

"Yep. It's nice to see him finally having a friend." Johannes nodded, both men watching the young boys.

"Alrighty then. I'm just curious about the entertainment." Snow chuckled.

"You're a big kid, ain't ya?"

"Maybe so."

"Daddy, daddy!" Dajh came running over, grabbing Sazh's jacket. "Come quick!"

"Now hold on. What's going on?"

"It's her! It's really her!"

"Who's 'her'?" Sazh asked, being pulled along by his son to the entertainment corner where he heard a familiar voice ring out with joy. A chirpy, bright personality he had longed to see again after all this time.

"You know, Light. I don't think I would've lasted long in this world if it weren't for places like this." Fang glanced towards Lightning, who was wiping sweat off of her forehead with a towell.

"It does feel good to be able to work my muscles, but I was never ready for it" Lightning chuckled. "I may have been built like a soldier, but that was just in my programme. Being here now, none of that matters."

"Yep, that's why you have to train from scratch." Fang huffed, putting the weights back on it's holder and sitting up, wiping sweat away and taking a swig from her bottle. "But the hard work pays off; it feels good."

"Yeah, but it's already getting pretty late, so we should head back soon."

"Yeah, just give me another round." Fang laid back again, taking the weights and lifting them above her head.

"Ahhh" Vanille cried out, falling back onto her bed after dropping her bags down. "Today has been a long one." She sat up, glancing at the clock. "I better get dinner ready." Vanille skipped downstairs and into the kitchen, where Serah and Lumina eventually showed up.

"Want us to help?" Serah asked, both her and Lumina walking in.

"Sure. Aprons are over there" She pointed behind the door, and both girls put an apron on each and after washing their hands, began to help Vanille make dinner. Lumina had never cooked before either, so it was her first time and she was eager to get going.

"Hey, we're back" Fang called, walking in. "Something smells great." She plopped down on the sofa, followed by Lightning.

"Yep, and it'll be aready in about an hour, so you two go and get yourselves showered." Serah walked over, scooting them off the sofa. "You're all sweaty from all that working out."

"Alright, you're the boss." Fang raised her hands in defeat and headed up to her room.

"You're letting Lumina cook?" Lightning asked with concern. "You sure that's such a good idea?"

"Yes, she's doing really well, actually." Serah said in a 'matter of fact' tone. "Now go!"

"Alright" Lightning chuckled, leaving the room to go and shower.

It wasn't long before the girls were serving up the plates and Hope arrived with Alyssa.

"Hey, Hope!" Vanille chirped. "Oh, and Alyssa. We finally meet, huh?"

"Hey." Hope chuckled. "That smells good..." He could feel his stomach rumble like a behemoth.

"Hey, Vanille." Alyssa smiled, shaking her hand. "And Serah...I'm really sorry for what happened.."

"Alyssa, I said it to Lightning and I'll say it to you; we were programmed to do those things. You don't need to apologise." Serah smiled.

"Well, it's good to see you all again. It's a shame Noel can't be here." Alyssa sighed.

"Yeah, but you get to meet the others now too." Hope chuckled. Lumina was continuing to set the table while they all greeted Alyssa. Since Lumina never met her, she didn't feel the need to get in the way of their meeting. And strangely enough, she didn't want to be involved. There was a strange feeling brewing inside of her when she saw Alyssa.

"And who's that?" But as if being left out of it was too much to ask, Alyssa spotting Lumina in the background and called her out.

"That's Lumina." Serah smiled, gesturing to her. "Come say hello, Lumina."

"Oh, hey, Lumina. You helped cook today? It smells really food, if that helps." Hope chuckled, but Lumina couldn't help but feel angry. She couldn't even speak without fearing it was going to sound nasty, and she couldn't bring herself to sound chirpy. But, she wasn't a chirpy person anyway. She was a michievious little demon that never played nice, so why did she have to change it now?

"Mhm-mhm, but it doesn't matter since Serah and Vanille were the main chefs." Lumina stated, walking over and smirking. "So, you're Alyssa, huh? You're the one who let Serah and Noel fall into the trap?" She tilted her head, her smirk still clear on her face. "Ouch, must really sting to know you helped the man who succeeded in destroying the world."

"Lumina..! Serah gasped. "Don't say that."

"What? I didn't know I was hitting on a sensitive subject. I mean, it's not like she's the victem at all." Lumina giggled

"No, I guess that's true. It's you and Noel, and everyone else who were the victems. For all I know, my selfish choice could've been a big reason to why he won." Alyssa lowered her head.

"Now hold on a minute" Serah scolded. "We were in a game, meaning you were programmed to do so! Even if you didn't, there was no escaping it since it was a set ending. Besides, depending on the choice you make, Noel stabs Caius and kills the Goddess."

"I-I guess." Alyssa nodded.

"Yeah, don't be so hard on yourself." Hope gave her a pat on the back, while Serah turned to Lumina and scowled.

"And you, young lady!" She huffed. "Don't be so rude and cruel. Sometimes you need to learn when it's okay and when it's not! There's a fine line, Lumina! You got that?"

"So it's okay for Lightning to be protective, but not me?" Lumina stared blankly at Serah, her face absant of any emotion whatsoever.

"Lumina, that's not being protective, that's being cruel." Serah sighed.

"Besides, you don't even know Alyssa. Just get to know her and I'm sure you'll be good friends." Hope smiled.

"Nah, I'm good. I think I'll sit on the fence on this one and wait for Lightning." Lumina said bluntly, skipping back into the kitchen.

"So, that's Lumina, huh?" Alyssa raised an eyebrow at Hope. "You made her sound so nice, but she really isn't. Either that, or she really doesn't like me."

"N-no, really...she's a great girl once you get to know her" Hope chuckled nervously. "I think it's just because of what she's heard about you, you know?"

"I see.." She stared at Lumina, her eyes narrowing slightly on the unaware girl.

After a while, Lightning and Fang came down and they all began eating. Serah put Snow's and the other's dinner in the oven for them until they got back.

"So?" Serah asked. "How does it taste?"

"This is...actually pretty good." Lightning blinked in shock, looking at Lumina. "You..can actually cook!"

"Yeah, this is great, Lumina" Hope complimented.

"It wasn't just me, you know."

"No, but she did do most of it." Vanille winked. "We told her what to do."

Despite Alyssa already apologising, Lightning, too, was weary of her. For once, it was something ber and Lumina had both agreed on. They didn't like her, and they both had their own reasons, maybe even without realising it, but they kept quiet. Lumina was biting her tongue, especially after Serah lectured her.

"I'll see you on monday, Hope." Alyssa smiled, waving as she left.

"Come again soon, okay?" Serah smiled.

"Yeah." They all saw her off until she was out of site, everyone heading back into the living room.

"Where on earth are the boys?" Serah frowned.

"Yeah, their food will be no good soon." Vanille gave a pout, feeling unhappy about good foor going to waste.

"You're complaining? The quite is nice without that loud idiot." Lightnign sighed contently, closing her eyes and tilting her head back against the sofa, and just like that, the door was opened and Snow came barging in loudly, followed by Sazh, who was carrying a sleepy Dajh.

"Aww, how cute." Serah giggled, looking at Dajh and patting his head.

"Yeah, I'm a go take him to bed. Also, there's someone you need to see." Sazh nodded towards the hallway before walking up the stairs and was greeted by a familier voice.

"Oh, Serah! It's been so long since I saw you. You've gotten prettier, you know. Oh, but not nearly as drop-dead-gourgess as me!"

"Chocolina!?" Serah gasped, and Lightning felt her headache get worse. Great. Snow and now her.

The chocobo woman was no longer such a chocobo and was 100% woman. She had hands and feet, and no feathers.

"It took me a while to get used to it, but it's super nice to be able to grab things and run without tripping over." She chirped.

"Hey, where's Johannes?" Serah asked, tilting her head. "Did he head back to his?"

"Yeah, Yuki had fallen asleep too, so he decided he'd call it a night" Snow answered. "Anyway, where's Alyssa?"

"You missed her." Hope answered. "But we'll see her again, don't worry."

"Great! Hey, Serah. Aren't you going to come give your hero a hug?"

"Uh, there's so much going on" Serah shook her head. "Oh! You guys, your dinner!" After an ordeal with getting their food ready, Sazh, Snow and Chocolina ate their food. "I'll take Johannes' round to him." Serah slipped on her boots with the plate in her hands, wrapped in clingfilm.

"Alright, don't be long." Snow called.

Serah stepped out into the cold night, looking up to see the sky full of stars.

"I really miss looking up at seeing cocoon, but this is pretty, too." She sighed before heading next door and knocking.

"Hello?" Johannes swung the door open. "Oh, Serah. What brings you here?"

"I brought you some dinner. We made you a plate, but since you're over here, I thought I'd bring it to you." She smiled.

"Oh, thanks." He chuckled, taking the plate. "Come in." He let her in, heading to the kitchen and sticking the plate in teh microwave after removing the film. "Smells. good."

"Yeah." Serah nodded. "So, did you have fun?"

"Hm? Yeah, yeah. You might wanna watch Snow mind. "Johannes raised both his brows, shaking his head a little.

"And why is that?" She giggled. "I mean, besides the obvious."

"Haha, well, he's a little too keen to have kids, for one." Johannes chuckled. "I don't think he really understands reality at all."

"Yeah, I figured he'd be like that." Serah sighed.

"Hey, hey. Most girls would be blushing, thinking of it and all, right? So why do you look so depressed about it."

"I'm not depressed" Serah frowned, folding her arms "I'm just...not pleased about it."

"And why is that?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Oh, really?"

"Really..."

"Hmm." Johannes eyed Serah, knowing something was clearly on her mind.

"Anyway, I just came here to give you that, not talk about Snow, so I'll see you tomorrow."

"You don't love him, do you?" Johannes question stopped Serah in her tracks. She just stoof there, frozen like ice with her eyes wide. "I thought so.."

"N-no, you're wrong. Of course I love him." Serah defended, turning around to face Johannes again. "He's my fiance and we're getting married. We've been through so much together, so of course I love him."

Serah.." Johannes cut her empty words off. "You're either in denial or lying to me, and I won't accept either."

"You're wrong. Besides, what's it to you? It's got nothing to do with you." Serah's gaze fell elsewhere as her hand fell loosely over her chest. "Snow loves me, and I love him, just like it's meant to be. We're going to get married and have our own family. The long and painful wait, it'll all be worth it."

"Serah, I don't know what you've been through, but to me, it sounds like you're forcing it. But you might think you're doing the right thing, but you're not. You'll be hurting Snow more than anything, and don't you want to be happy?"

"I am happy." Serah smiled, her attention back on Johannes.

"Serah-"

"Now, I'll see you tomorrow." She turned, not giving him a chance to finish what he wanted to say and left.

"You deserve so much better." He sighed, leaning against the counter.

When Serah got back, everyone was getting ready to head off to bed. Serah thought about what Johannes said, and gulped. Surely it was all a lie. Of course she loved Snow, and she'd prove it tonight.

"Hey, Snow. Can I sleep in your room with you tonight?" Snow glanced over, a little shocked.

"Sure, babe." He smiled walking over and hugging her, nibbling her ear. "Shall I tell Hope to sleep somewhere else for the night?"

"Yeah.." Serah nodded.

"Alright!" Snow chuckled, walking off to find Hope before returning. "Alright, he's gonna pop over to Johannes and see if he can use his spair room."

"Okay." Serah nodded and with that, Snow guided her to his room. It was as if Lightning had sensors for when Serah was doing something she didn't like because Lightning's right ear twitched and she popped her head up, glancing around with her eyes narrow.

"You okay, Light?" Fang asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's nothing. I thought I heard Serah.."

So, shall we push the two bed together or are you okay with both of us squishing on mine?" Snow laughed, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"It's find with just the one." Serah replied, unbottoning her shirt.

"Oh, okay. You're getting undressed there." Snow blushed, looking away.

"We're engaged, aren't we? So you can look." Serah felt uncomfortable, but she felt she needed to force herself to do this.

"Actually, about that..." Snow smiled shyly, and Serah felt her heart race all of a sudden. Why was she hoping he was going to call it off? "I proposed by programme, but not in this world. That proposal, it was meaningless to me." Serah stopped undressed and turned to Snow.

"I feel the same." She nodded. "I wasn't sure how to say it though..."

"Right? So I was thinking of proposing properly. I want to make it meaningful, so for now, we're not engaged yet." Snow turned to her, smiling.

"...right" Serah smiled, nodding her head. But she couldn't help but feel her heart sink. "Snow, how do you feel?"

"That's a strange questions" He raised an eyebrow. "But I feel like the happiest guy. I have my friends, a good job...and the woman I love right here with me at last." He pulled her close, gazing into her eyes before pulling her into a deep kiss.

Serah knew she should've felt something, but she didn't. She didn't feel her heart race, or her stomach go crazy. She felt like she was kissing a stranger, someone she had no bond with at all. She was close to tears, but was able to hold it in. The man she had spent so long loving, the one who had faught so hard to be with her, was nothing to her now. The feelings were really nothing but a programme.

"Serah, are you okay?" Snow asked, snapping Serah from her thoughts. "You seem distant.."

"I'm just tired, Snow. Life in this world is a lot harder than I'd thought" She smiled.

"Yeah, I know. But you can talk to me, you know that, right? We're a couple."

"Yeah, I know." Snow kissed her again before the two decided to get some sleep. For the first time, Snow was able to hold Serah in his arms and fall asleep like that. He had longed for it for so long, and it was finally here.

"Alright! I've booked the spa for the spring next year, when it's best to go." Johannes announced to following day. "We'll be there for a week, so make sure to pack things on time."

"Whoo, I can't wait!" Snow cheered.

"How many months will that be now?" Vanille thought, pursing her lips. "five months?"

"Yep, so we still have a good amount of time to save up. The price is £3578, but we'll have more than enough by then." Johannes informed them.

"Great, so we can all book time off work for then." Lightning got out her phone, texting the news to Lebreau before closing her phone shut.

"Right, but that's next year now." Johannes chuckled. "For now, lets just get excited for Christmas."

"Christmas?" Vanille asked, making Johannes look at her with a rather startled expression.

"Don't tell me you guys don't know what Christmas is..." He looked around at their confused faces and let out a heavy sigh. "Oh, jeez.." For the next hour or so, Johannes sat there, explaining to them what Christmas was and what people did. Vanille got excited at the thought of it, but after hearing it was less than a month away, they all got a little worried about getting gifts and decorations.

"I can't believe that even after all this time being here, we only just hear about this holiday.." Hope sighed. "Well what shall we do?"

"It's simple, isn't it?" Lightning sat there, her arms folded across her chest. "We'll have everyone come here. Serah, Vanille and Lumina can cook the dinner, and we'll all eat here."

"Sounds good" Serah nodded.

"Yeah, I don't mind cooking! But, er..we'll have to look into it a little more." Vanille giggled.

"Don't forget pressents for everyone." Snow mentioned. "What kind of things do you give someone, anyway?"

"It doesn't matter." Johannes sighed. "It's the thought that counts and besides, you all seem like you've been together for a while, so it should be easy."

"You'll be coming, right, Johannes? You'll bring Yuki with you?" Lumina asked, smirking as she usually did.

"Sure, but my other nefew will be coming too, since he spends holidays at mine."

"That's fine." Serah beamed. "It'll be fun."

And so, their busy weeks were about to get busier with the coming of December in less than two weeks. Their work shifts would become longer and busier, but they'd get more pay. They'd have to spend their free time looking for things to buy each other and buying other things like the food and decorations.

As december drew closer, the weather got colder and colder with each day. Soon they were breathing steam from their mouthes, getting excited from the new experience in this world. People were a lot more stressed this time of year, too, but they were still happy and beaming. After their long days at work, they drink hot drinks together, getting things ready.

And finally, December came. They put up their decorations and went into the town centre to watch the main lights get turned on. It was the best thing they'd ever seen; all those bright lights shining through the town. The shops were decorated brightly, too and Serah and Vanille even got cute seasonal maid outfits for work.

"It's less than a week, guys." Serah smiled, holding her hot drink close to her. "The weatherman said it'll be snowing in the next couple days."

"We'll finally get to see snow!" Lumina beamed. "I can't wait."

"You see me right here, everyday." Snow winked at the young, pink haired girl, who shot a frown at him.

"You know what I mean" She crossed her arms, pouting in the other direction. The other's laughed at the two, but were soon cut off from Johannes, who walked in.

"Hey, guys." He smiled, his nose red from the cold outside. "My nefew is arriving at the plan station soon, and I have to go pick him up. Could you look after Yuki while I fetch him?" He pulled Yuki in gently, both his hands resting on the young boy's shoulder. "I promise I won't be long."

"Sure, Johannes. It's not a problem at all." Serah smiled, walking over and bending down to Yuki's level and taking his hand. "You wanna come play with us for a bit?"

Yuki's cold eyes stared for a moment before he nodded, letting Serah guide him in and sat him down next to Hope and Dajh.

"Thanks, guys. I'd take him with me, but it's easier this way and it's rush hour as it is." Johannes sighed.

"I told you, it's not a problem. Yuki's a good boy, after all." Serah giggled, standing by Johannes again. "Hey, it's cold outside." She walked over to the kitchen, filling a large up with hot chocolate and putting a lid on top before giving it to Johannes. "Here."

"Er, thank's, Serah." Johannes blinked, taking the cup from Serah. "That's nice of you." He smiled at the pink haired woman. "Well, I better get going. See you all in a bit."

"Drive safely!" Lumina called, making Johannes stop for a moment.

"Thanks, Lumina." He chuckled, glancing back at her. Everyone was a little shocked by Lumina's caring demand, and stared at her while Johannes let himself out.

"That was a little odd, hearing that from you." Lightning chuckled.

"I was just going to say the same thing" Snow waved.

"Ouch, you guys are mean." Lumina pretended to sound hurt. "But whatever. I guess Johannes is just more important to me than any of you." She smirked, sticking her tongue out.

"Oh?" Hope raised an eyebrow, but Lumina ignored him and continued to watch the tv.

"Well, anyway." Serah shook her head, turning to Yuki. "Are you excited to see your brother, Yuki?"

"..." Yuki nodded his head, but didn't say anything.

"O-kay" Snow scratched the back of his head. "Why don't we play a game, Yuki?" But Yuki shook his head. "Aww, come on."

"Snow, don't force him." Serah sighed, placing a filled mug of hot chocolate in front of Yuki. "There you go, sweetie." She ruffled his hair gently, smiling.

"Thank you, Miss Serah." Yuki said with a small voice, taking the cup and taking a sip from the warm drink. His reply actually shocked everyone, even Serah, since they had never heard his voice before. He was a quiet boy that had only just spoke out to them, even after all their time here so far.

"You're welcome, Yuki. But please, just call me Serah." She smiled.

"...Serah.." He nodded.

"Well, ain't that grand?" Sazh laughed. "Now if only I could teach Dajh to be that polite."

"Huh? But daddy-"

"I'm kidding. You're adorable, son." Sazh gave his son a pat on the shoulder.

"I hate to ruin the mood, but when are we gonna eat?" Fang cut in, her legs up on the coffee table. "I'm starving."

"Fang, you just ate not that long ago!" Vanille cried, frowning at the older woman.

"Oi, I've never been able to appreciate the joys of food." Fand defended. "Now I can appreciate it, I want to eat all the time. Fill me up, girl"

"Fang, that sounds weird." Hope chuckled.

"Besides, Don't say something like that in front of Yuki"

"It's fine. He's just a kid, so it's not like he understands." Snow raised his fist in the air. "We can talk about that other world and our lives there, and it wouldn't matter because he wouldn't understand."

"Oh, you guys are terrible." Serah huffed, but her angry features softened when she looked at the young boy in question. He was sat quietly, watching the tv and not paying any attention to their conversation at all.

Before long, Dajh had fallen asleep in Sazh lap, leaving Yuki with no one to play with.

"It's getting pretty late. Do you want to take a nap, Yuki?" Serah kneeled down beside him, but he shook his head.

"I know!" Hope stood up. "Wanna come play video games with me and Lumina?" Lumina looked back, frowning at Hope.

"Why me?"

"Because you're the only one who's fun to play with." Hope chuckled.

"You like that idea, Yuki?" Serah smiled, and Yuki nodded, standing up along with Serah and Lumina, who he quickly took her hand while Hope took his other hand.

They headed up into Hope's room and switched on the console, sitting cross-legged on the floor with the remotes in their hands. Yuki was sat on Hope's lap, watching contently as the two played away. Lumina couldn't help but blush everytime she glanced at Hope, who was talking to Yuki and letting him hold the remote with him.

"Quick, shoot her!" Hope laughed, making Yuki press the shoot button and finish Lumina off.

"I'm only letting you win because you're playing, Yuki" Lumina defended, since this was her fourth loss.

"Sure, sure." Hope teased. "But I bet you're just no match for this little champion." Normally, Lumina would have made a smart remark, but since Yuki looked like he was enjoying himself, Lumina just simply continued to play, losing every battle. But it wasn't just because of Yuki that she bit her tongue with each loss, but because she was enjoying her time with Hope. It was the first time in a long time they had spent time together like this, and while she didn't want to admit it, she was happy.

Before long, Yuki had falled asleep though. He slept peacefully in Hope's lap while they continued to play, talking away like they used to.

"So how have you been spending your free time, Lumi?" Hope asked.

"I've been helping Johannes out with stuff. I've learnt some interesting things about him."

"Is that why you're so nice to him?" Hope chuckled, glancing at her for a moment before back at the screen.

"You could say that." She pursed her lips, recalling the story Johannes had told her a while back now. "What about you? How is work going?"

"Oh, yeah. It's going well. It can be a little hectic this time of year, but it's fun. It keeps me on my toes, you know?"

"Not really."

"Well, it keeps me from thinking too much about certain things." Hope laughed nervously.

"Like what?"

"Heh, nothing. Don't worry, Lumina...Think fast!" Hope laughed as he won another round, making Lumina frown and cross her arms.

"Seriously, I let you win."

"Sure, sure." He smirked. "Anyway.." Hope shifted a little, picking Yuki up and placing him on his own bed. "There you go, little dude. More comfy for you."

"Where are you going to sleep?" Lumina raised an eyebrow, still watching Yuki sleep peacefully.

"I'll wake him when Johannes gets back. If not, I don't mind sleeping on the sofa."

"Weirdo." Lumina sighed. There was a few moments of silence between the two, and Lumina felt like she needed to say something to Hope. She wasn't sure what it was, but the unbarable feeling was becoming too much for her. Unspoken words, begging to be spilled into the air between the two. But what? "..Hope-"

Beep, beep. Hope's phone went off. Perfect timing, right? He pulled out his phone and answered it.

"Hey." He answered. "Oh, uhm...tomorrow? Sure. Yeah, that's fine. Okay, bye." Hope put his phone back in his pocket and turned to Lumina. "Sorry, Lumina. It was work, they wanted me to work a little tomorrow." He chuckled. "Anyway, what was you saying?"

"Oh, nothing." She laced her hands behind her back, stepping backwards towards the door. "I've gotta go do something." She spun on her heels and walked out, leaving the silver haired boy to his thoughts. He looked down at Yuki again and let out a heavy sigh. He didn't want Lumina to have left, but he couldn't bring himself to say that. It's not that he couldn't, but because it was Lumina. She was such a strange girl, no one ever knew what she was thinking. If he had said something like that to her, who knows what she would've done. He didn't even know if she really considered him a friend at all. He didn't know if she loved every moment they spent together as much as he did, which was why...he wanted to forget those feelings. He wanted to not feel this way for that girl at all.

AN: Mhm, some odd pairings in this, right? But since I'm just letting the story flow, the ships are coming out naturally. I haven't planned any of them (appart from a few that'll come later) the rest have kinda just happened and I like it. Lumina and Hope have a cute relationship. Wether of not it goes further is completely up to how the story flows. Will Lightning find romance? I don't know either. I haven't planned anything for her, and I DO NOT want suggestions. :p thanks for reading~


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Christmas, snow and a bitter taste?

Christmas was in three days, and everyone was getting pretty excited, even if there hadn't been any snow yet. Everyone had met Mike, Johannes' nefew and he was a stoic young man. He was around Hope's age, but he reminded everyone of Lightning at that age. Even Lightning could see it, but only Lumina knew why he was like that. Lumina and Johannes, at least.

"So, who's going to be coming?" Johannes asked, all of them sat in the living room, watching some tv.

"Well, all of us, for one." Vanille beamed. "Then there's Chocoline, Lebreau.."

"What about Alyssa?" Lightning asked Hope.

"Er, no. I was going to ask, but she said something about being excited since her friends were taking her on holiday with them for christmas and the new years thing." Hope replied. And yes, Johannes did have to explain new years to them, too. Having to explain these things to them had made him more and more curious about where they were from, but he didn't ask. He was going to wait until they'd finally tell him their story.

"That's a shame, isn't it?" Lumina pursed her lips, pretending to sound dissapointed, but it was painfully obvious.

"Not really" Vanille smiled. "Less people to cook for. We're going to be busy, girls." Vanille had said that on purpose, to avoid Lumina getting scolded by Serah again. While Vanille didn't agree with Lumina's cruel words towards Alyssa, she couldn't help but dislike her either. Not just because of what she did to Serah and Noel; she forgave that since it wasn't her place to judge to begin with. But because Vanille noticed Alyssa give Lumina a few nasty glares every now and then. Lumina was completely unaware of this, but Vanille knew exactly what was going on in that girl's head.

"And I'm sure it'll be delicious" Fang threw an arm over Vanille's shoulder, clearly a little drunk from the drink she had been drinking.

"Oh, Fang.." Vanille waved a hand in front of her face. "Your breath smells terrible!"

"That's a lot of people, regardless." Mike spoke up, his arms folded across his chest. "Do I really have to get cramped in with a bunch of people I hardly know?"

"Yes. It'll be fun, Mike." Johannes frowned. "Now don't be so rude."

"Tch, whatever. Just don't sit me next to the big guys." He nodded towards Snow, who was lost in conversation with Sazh about something stupid.

"Now that's enough." Serah frowned. "There will be plenty of room, so stop complaining. Jeez, you sound just like my sister."

"Hey" Lightning shot Serah a glare.

"Well it's true!" She huffed. Both Mike and Lightning turned their glances away, thier arms crossed.

"Whatever.." They both said, making everyone laugh at them.

In the next couple days, everyone was getting ready, then Christmas finally came. They exchanged their gifts and were all in high spirits. Even Lightning and Mike were smiling.

Even dinner went well. The three girls slaved away in the kitchen, and they did not dissapoint. Chocolina had almost revealed their secret to Johannes when it came to the meat, but luckily they dodge the bullet.

"Me? Eat chicken? I could never eat another animal like that. No, no, no. I was once a cute little chick, you know. Eating my distant cousins? How unthinkable!"

"What did she just say?" Johannes raised an eyebrow, staring at the bubbly woman in shock.

"Er, don't mind her. She believes in the whole 'reincarnation' thing. She things she was a bird in her past life and so, she's a vegiterian.." Snow covered, laughing nervously. Lucky for them, Johannes baught the story.

It wasn't long before they were all in bed, fast asleep. The next day, the cooks took it easy while everyone else cleaned up. They did offer to help, except Lumina, of course, but everyone refused to let them since they had worked so hard the previous day.

The next week, it was finally new years eve and everyone was in town to watch the fireworks show at midnight.

"It's so cold" Vanille cried, jogging on the spot to warm herself up.

"I told you to bring an coat" Fang chuckled, throwing her jacket over Vanille's shoulders.

"No, you'll get cold!" Vanille was about to give the jacket back, but Fang refused it.

"I don't feel the cold, so use it." Vanille knew she couldn't win with Fang, so with a huff, she put the jacket on and felt it's warmth. She felt bad for Fang, but she knew she'd be okay. It was Fang, after all. That woman was built like a worrior, even here.

"How much longer?" Lumina began to complained "I'm tired."

"Not long now. The countdown will start soon." Johannes chuckled, ruffling the young girl's hair.

"I'm a little dissapointed there hasn't been any snow though." Serah sighed. "Even though it's so cold."

"Yeah, the snow can be late sometimes. But it's no biggie, so don't worry. It'll come" Johannes reassured.

"5...4...3" The countdown started, and everyone joined in as the big clock on the tower was seconds away from midnight. " 2...1...happy new year!" Everyone cheered and fireworks flew off into the air, banging and popping in the sky and lighting it up with colour.

"Woah.." they awed, their eyes fixed on the beautiful decorations that continued to echo for miles.

"You know, Serah" Snow whispered, hugging Serah from behind. "It's just like back in Bodhum, the night I proposed." He chuckled.

"Yeah.." Serah nodded in response. She hadn't really thought of that night at all, but when she suddenly recalled it, she realised how far she had come since then.

"Next year, I'm going to propose to you, Serah. We'll do it properly, in this world. We'll make it real." He smiled, squeezing Serah close.

"Snow..do you think we'll still be together by then?" She turned, facing him.

"What do you mean? Of course I do." He chuckled. "I wanna be with you, Serah, and nothing will stop me."

"Yeah, I guess so. It's just...things can change so much in a year, you know?" She turned around again, turning her gaze up to the sky.

"Yeah, I know. For someone who's traveled the timeline, you know all about that."

Over the last couple of months, Serah had tried hard to relight the fire for her relationship with Snow. But she had really started to believe it was never there to begin with. She was blinded by reality, and without realising it, she was lying to herself. Now she knew, but she didn't know how to say it. But she was going to wait for a while, just to see if maybe, just maybe, she could fall in love with him.

A few days passed, and everyone was enjoying their last week off before work and school started again. They were on their way back from the bar when small, white things began to fall from the sky.

"What's this?" Lumina blinked, watching a piece of the wonder fall into the palm of her gloved hand, where it melted instantly. "Woah!" She gasped.

"Ah, would you look at that, it's snowing." Johannes chuckled, looking around.

"This is snow?" Vanille beamed, jumping around in it as it continued to fall from the sky. Their clothing and hair was soon decorated with the soft snow that danced all around them, landing on the ground to set.

"Kinda takes the manliness out of my name, don't it?" Snow rubbed the back of his head.

"Snow, I don't think there ever was any manliness to your name." Lightning shook her head, smirking a little. It was entertaining for her to see Snow look so dissapointed about it. But they had also learnt, thanks to Johannes, that Snow was a strange name to begin with. 'a pet name' as he called it. He also made fun of Hope's name a few times, saying it was a girl's name. He had picked at everyone's unusual names, except Serah's and Fang's, simply because Fang would rip his head off if he said anything and Serah's was normal. But then again, his youngest newfew did have a rather unusual name, too.

"Hey, I just thought of something.." Johannes chuckled. "Yuki means snow in Japanese, so would that mean you both share the same name?"

"Oh, really?" Lightning smirked. "But it's cute for him. It suits him."

"That's true, but why did your sister name him yuki? I mean, isn't it a little strange?" Serah asked. Johannes thought for a moment before finally replying.

"You know, I never really had the chance to ask her, but I'm sure it had something to do with the fact it was snowing when he was born and my sister was into that kind of thing"

"Sounds nice, actually" Lightning nodded. "But then, wouldn't that mean both their birthdays are coming up?"

"Mine's already been." Mike said. "But since I wasn't able to get here for then, we're celebrating it now."

"Huh!? That's terrible! We haven't got you anything.." Serah lowered her head.

"Don't worry. Like I'd accept gifts from a bunch of people I hardly know, anyway. And it's ont likely any of you will be in my uncles life for long either." He said coldly.

"Mike!" Johannes frowned.

""What? I'm just saying the truth. Anyway, I don't like making a fuss over the stupid day I was born."

"The celebration of your birth is not a 'stupid' day, got it?" Serah huffed. "I don't care if we're strangers, either. We're here now, and I don't think any of us plan on not being around, so get used to it, Mr!" Mike was silent as Serah continued to lecture him, but it was hard to tell if it was sinking in or just winding him up more. If he was anything like Lightning, which he was, it wasn't going to make a difference to him. "Your birth is a time for happiness and life."

Lumina stepped up, grabbing Serah's arm gently and shaking her head, telling Serah it was enough. Normally, Lumina would sit back and watch the whole thing blow up, but this time, she decided to be the one to stop it. She knew the story, after all. She knew why Mike didn't celebrate it and why Mike was so distant with everyone, not letting anyone get close to him. Not just because of Johannes' story, but because Lumina was once a part of Lightning. She knew what it was like. She knew he was like Lightning in a lot of ways, and so she could understand him in her own, weird way. But it wasn't her place to say, since she promised Johannes.

"Let's just get home, kay? I'm super tired." Lumina dragged Serah along with her, leading the way back home without giving anyone a chance to speak or argue.

Everyone pretty much went straight to bed after that, each with their own thoughts and problems. But they had something to look forward to now; the spa trip. Even if it was three months away, they were going to have something to make the days come quicker.

Of course they still had a week to relax with. They played in the snow until it had all melted away, and even after trying to persuade Mike to let them throw him a small party, he refused. They decided to try again next year, but for now, they were going to give Yuki a good birthday party. He was going to be turning eight tomorrow.

"Are you excited?" Serah asked, smiling at him. She had spent the last couple days practicing to make him a great birthday cake. She was pretty proud of it, but he wasn't aloud to see it until tomorrow.

"Yeah." Yuki nodded. He had opened up a little more in the last couple weeks. He would now talk to Serah more and often stuck to her like glue. "But Mike's going home after, too."

"Will you miss him, Yuki?" Yuki's head hung low and he nodded a few times.

"I always miss him."

"Yuki.." Serah felt her heart break into a million pieces, and all she could do was hug the young boy close. "I know how you feel."

"How so?" Serah let him free from her hug and he looked up at her with curious eyes.

"Well, when me and my sister were very young, our parents died. Lightning had to grow up fast, and she wasn't around much for a long time. I felt very lonely and sad because I missed my big sister and needed her to be with me." Serah smiled gently.

"You're parents died, too?"

"I thought your mum was still alive, Yuki?" Serah tilted her head to the side a little.

"Our mummy is alive, but our daddy died a long time ago. But my mummy's parents died when her and uncle were about your age." His words shocked Serah, making her gasp a little.

"Is that true? Johannes lost his parents?"

"Yes." Yuki nodded. "Didn't you know?"

"No, he never said anything."

"Then it's probably best you forgot it, ok? It took a lot for him to move on, mummy said. So making him recall it will hurt him."

"Yuki..."

"Mummy told Mike about it, and Mike told me. He said that uncle fell bad back then. Mummy said she was scared for him because it was like a black hole just swallowed him up, especially after..no, I shouldn't say." Yuki lowered his head. "I'm sorry...I've said too much." He began to tear up. "Please forget I said anything, Serah."

"Y-Yuki? Don't cry." Serah tried to comfort him, but her mind was racing with thoughts. Why had Johannes never told her something like that? It was then that she realised that she really didn't know Johannes at all. He had a past that was burried under smiles and kidness. A past that cut deep into his soul.

Yuki's birthday soon came by, and he was over the moon with the cake Serah had made for him. Everyone had baught him nice gifts, and Johannes was more than greatful. By the end of the day, Yuki was fast asleep and everyone could finally relax and enjoy the last day off before work started, but even that flew by.

"Hey, good to see you again, Farron. How was your last week?" Lebreau greeted Lightning as she walked through the door in her uniform.

"It was good. You?" Lightning smiled, making her way behind the bar with Lebreau.

"Yeah, it was great"

Meanwhile, Vanille and Serah were also enjoying their fresh start after their break, along with Snow and Fang.

"It's good to have you back, Fang." One of the guys she worked with chuckled.

"Yep, it's good to be back. I've missed these punching bags." She smirked, throwing a punch into the bag.

"Don't forget about me, Fang." A woman smirked, stepping into the room. She had long-ish, blonde hair and deep, green eyes. She was wearing a training outfit with a towel hanging over her shoulders.

"Don't worry, I can't forget you that easily." Fang chuckled.

"Good. I'd have to really work my way to the top if you did." She leaned in close to Fang, biting her lip and winked suggestively.

"Oh, I don't know. You could still do that." Fang winked back.

"Come on, ladies. In your own time." The man chuckled. "Sure, girl on girl is great, but maybe after work hours, when I'll have time to-"

"Hey, we're not getting into that." The woman waved a hand. "Jeez, guys are such pigs."

"Aw, come on. I would be the same if two girls were about to make out in front of me." Fang chuckled. "We'll just have to go to our usual place after work, okay?"

"Alright" The woman giggled. Fang had been seeing Louise for a while now. The two had hit it off from day one, and they both turned out to like girls. Fang never really had to work late, she just wanted to spend time with Louise without having to explaine it to everyone else and have them on her case. Also, she didn't want to see how Vanille would react. Would Vanille be happy for her? Or would she be disgusted that Fang liked women? Would Vanille be hurt? Or would she even care at all? It kept Fang awake at night, and it frustraited her enough to make her punch walls. She had blamed her ingured hands on training a lot though, just so she didn't worry anyone. Of course, Vanille still took care of her, and Fang couldn't help but fall in love with her.

But Vanille was Vanille. There was no way Vanille would feel the same, so Fang did her best to make a distance between them for a while, but it was no use. Instead, she met her work partner, Louise. She took her mind off Vanille and the lingering thoughts daily, and Fang adored her pressence for that. Louise was Fang's new focus, and eventually, she'd open up to her friends about it, but for now, Louise was nothing but a destraction from her real feelings for Vanille.

"Hey, Lumina, I need to use the boys room a second, so wait here for me." Hope said, running off to the toilets and leaving Lumina in the hallway. She let out a sigh and checked the time. They still had a while to spare until class started, but even so, she just wished she could go back to bed.

"Lumina?" A familier voice called out, snapping Lumina from her thoughts. She turned around to see someone she really didn't want to see: Alyssa.

"Alyssa? Fancy seeing you here." Lumina said smugly. "If it's Hope you're after, he's not here right now."

"That's alright, since I go here anyway. I was moved into your class!" She beamed, yet there was a devious grin on her face, as if she was warding Lumina off. Lumina, however, wasn't intimidated in the slightest. Lumina was the queen of bitching people out. She could flick Alyssa away with one simple sentance, but she wanted to see how long it would play out.

"Oh, I wonder why?" Lumina's voice dripped with sarcasm, making Alyssa's devious smile twist with bitterness. "I bet it has nothing to do with wanting to be with Hope."

"Nope, not at all" Alyssa denied. "I was just so interested by this course after hearing him talk about it 24/7 that I switched. Besides, there's no doubt that you'd be dragging him down and stuff, so someone has to be there to help him out with you." And there it was, the bitchy comment Lumina was waiting for.

"Right, right. I'm bringing him down. I'm the nasty, fire breathing dragon that's got your prince all locked up and won't let you have him. That about right?" Lumina smirked. "Or am I some sort of demon that's seduced him and stolen him from you, so you've come to take him back?" Lumina let out a small laugh, as if she found Alyssa's pressence pathetic. "Really, you need to let the boy breathe"

"Well, who's the one with the reputation for being the devious little witch that goes out of her way to make everyone's life hell?" Alyssa grinned smugly.

"One: it's demon, not a witch. Two: I went out of my way to make things difficult for Lightning. I don't care for people like you. And who's the one who went behind everyone's back to help Caius and lure Serah and Noel into a trap? Well that certainly wasn't me." Lumina's voice continued to ring with a bitter innocence, making it harder for Alyssa to resist the urge to smack her.

"Would Hope and the other's really be so accepting of me if they still held that against me?" Alyssa countered. "You've still shown to have not changed, so if anything, the odds are not on your side."

"Oh, no. She's got the upper hand on something I don't care about. What will I do?" Lumina pretended to act scared, her voice trembling with a fake worry. "Please, you'll have to try harder than that. Actually, I'm a little dissappointed."

"You think you're some sort of princess, don't you? Well news flash" Alyssa scowled. "We're not in that world anymore, so you don't have the power of chaos to save you when I slap you, got it? You keep out of my way, and I'll make it easy for you. But if you continue to make my life hard, you'll be sorry."

"Ouch, how low." Lumina smirked. "Threatening to slap me? That's pathetic."

"That's rich, coming from the girl who isn't even a person." Alyssa laughed smugly. "You were made from Lightning's rejected emotions as a vessel for Serah's soul. Literally, all you were was a vessel for someone else. Even then, you were rejected. You were rejected from the person you spawned from. That's pathetic." Alyssa's words cut Lumina, but Lumina kept a smirk on her face.

"Right, but at least I'm not some attention whore who wants to ride on her directors dick." Lumina let her anger get ahead of her, which she hadn't done before and the words spilled out before she knew what she had said.

"Oh, looks like even you have a limit." Alyssa smirked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Was that too much for you? Does the truth sting that bad?"

"You know what-?" Just then Hope walked over and Alyssa held her tongue.

"Oh, hey, Alyssa." Hope smiled.

"Hey, Hope. I was just telling Lumina about how I exchanged to your class." She put on a big, fake smile. It make Lumina cringe at how obvious it was, but Lumina wanted to push it a little more.

"No we weren't" Lumina said innocently. "You were about to say something until Hope came over. 'you know what-?' and then you cut off." Hope looked at Alyssa, along with Lumina, who was smirking smugly.

"Er..you know what? This is going to be great. Just us three hanging out in class together." She laughed, but it was clearly killing her to have to say that. Score one to Lumina. 

Lumina knew she won this round, but she also knew this was only the beginning. Now she had seen Alyssa's true colours, her true motives. Lumina could feel the hate growing from the pit of her stomach. The gut feelings had proven true, but who would believe her? Who would believe this girl who had 'changed' by everyone else's rules, was a devious little rat? Lightning, maybe. But what good would Lightning do in this situation?

AN: I am guilty of disliking Alyssa, so yeah. I made her a huge bitch that's out to ruin Lumina's life simply because Lumina is close to Hope. But can you really think she isn't the type anyway? And yes, Fang has been being naughty this whole time.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Pride is a weapon against oneself

The day went by slowly for Lumina, the snide remarks spilling from her mouth without stop. She attacked Alyssa with cruel words, like poison. Alyssa wasn't innocent, of course. She's usually do something sly to provoke the words, or she'd come back with something just as snide.

However, Hope only ever seemed to notice when Lumina said something. He'd scold Lumina and tell her off, and Alyssa would play the victem everytime. But Lumina didn't try to defend herseld. She didn't see the point since Hope knew Lumina this way. It wasn't just Hope, but everyone saw Lumina this way. They'd never think twice if someone said Lumina had verbally attacked them. They wouldn't even listen to her side and always assume she was the bad guy. Lumina had accepted this, though. And today only proved it. Even despite becoming close with Hope, he still didn't hesitate to believe Alyssa, who had betrayed Serah, Noel and him once. But Lumina would never betray anyone, she never had. Even in that world, she had never betrayed Lightning. She stuck to her role and took care of Serah soul just like she was tasked with. So why?

It angered her, but there was nothing she could do. She didn't see the point in changing it either. She had decided to be that way. If they wanted to see her that way, despite being close to her, then so be it.

Lumina, Hope and Alyssa were sat in their last lesson for the day. Everyone was chatting and working, including them three. Despite having to scold Lumina a lot of the day, Hope was still in a good mood, involving her in the conversation. However, Lumina had no intentions to play nice.

"So, how long have you two been buddies?" Alyssa asked. "I never really imagine you'd be hanging around with her, Hope."

"Was that meant to sting?" Lumina smirked, inturrupted Alyssa's little giggle. Hope gave a nervous chuckle.

"Yeah, me and Lumina have a lot in common. We've been friends for a while now, too. Really, Alyssa, I know you two will be great friends."

"Oh, you think? Then I hope-" 

"Pfft, what are you trying to say, Hope? That I'm on the same low level as her?" Lumina leaned back in her chair, putting no a fake, hurt look. "Ouch, Hope. Ouch."

"Lumina.." Hope sighed.

"Oh, and don't give me that 'Lumina' either." She leaned forward in her seat again. "I think I deserve some credit. I didn't betray anyone and I never intended to. I was never a bad guy."

"Neither was I" Alyssa cut in. "I did what anyone else would do in that situation."

"What situation? You were working beside the director, coming up with new plans to prevent the damage being worse. It was clear and obvious it was unavoidable, yet you were all working to lessen the damage. How is turning your back on all those years of researched that everyone worked so hard for acceptable?" Lumina's smiled dripped with venom, her words sending a chill down Alyssa's back.

"I...I was scared!" Alyssa shook her head, trying to reason her side. "It was getting closer, and I was going to be a part of it all. That man, he told me...we all do things out of fear. I knew Serah and Noel couldn't save us all."

"So you were going to trap them in the void beyond? After all they'd done for you and everything they were risking? Serah's very life was at risk, but she kept going. She knew she'd die, yet she kept fighting without fear. Sure, Caius won in the end, but it didn't change that those two put in every bit of effort and determination into saving everyone rather than run away from their fates like cowards" Lumina giggled "Unlike a certain girl I know"

"Lumina, that's enough." Hope frowned at Lumina, raising his hand in front of her as if to back her off. Lumina's eyes narrowed at Alyssa, who was curled up, trembling in her seat.

"Oh, she's crying? What a surprise." Lumina rolled her eyes. "You can't just cry about it, you know. What good will that do? It just proves how weak and pathetic you are. Lightning had lost her sister, she had lost so much and has always been fighting, yet she never cried or ran away. Serah was like that,too. All of them were, even Hope. So why does that make you any different?"

"LUMINA!" Hope yelled, everyone in the room turning to them. Hope continued to frown at Lumina, his eyes full of hate. Lumina felt a lump in her throat, a sting at her eyes. Why did it hurt to hear him say her name so angrily? To see his eyes looking at her with so much hate? She swallowed the lump, a big smirk forming on her face as she pushed her chair out and stood up.

"I see she's brainwashed you already, Hope. And I thought more of you, too. Shame, really. But oh, well." She sung, grabbing her bag and ingnoring the stares from everyone as they watched her leave.

"Lumina, you can't just leave." The teacher tried, but Lumina twirled around to stop them from wasting their breath.

"I can do whatever I like. That's the great part of being an independent individual that doesn't need others." She smiled bitterly before continuing off.

Hope was in shock, he didn't even realise how cruel his stare was until he turned back to Alyssa and his face relaxed. He suddenly felt a wave of guilt wash over him, but there was nothing he could do now. Lumina was such a hard to read person, he never knew what to do. He had really thought the two of them had become good friends, but there she was, being the same girl he knew he for. But she had been so different, so why was she acting that way again? He was angry..no, it wasn't anger he felt. It was...disappointment. The girl he had become so close with and seen another side to, she had changed with the snap of the fingers.

Hope shook off the unpleasant feelings brewing inside of him and turned to comfort Alyssa some more. The blonde was still trembling in her seat, but Hope managed to calm her down and make her crack a smile eventually. It wasn't long until the teacher came over to talk to them both about what just happened though, and Hope didn't really know how to explain it, either.

Meanwhile, Lumina walked down the halls and made her way to the exit of the building, where she could see dark clouds moving slowly across the sky.

"Great, it's going to rain." She sighed, looking down at her black dress and pump shoes. She certainly wasn't wearing suitable clothing for rain. She was wearing the same dress she had wore while being trapped in that place, except she took off the sleeve, shoulder parts and the long jacket she had wore over it. She kept the long socks and shoes, too (taking off the decoration on the shoes, though). She let out a sigh and began walking home. It was only when she got to the gates that the rain started pouring, but she didn't run or try and get under cover. She continued to walk slowly in the rain like it was nothing, and honestly, it was nothing. It felt nice.

She made her way to the cafe that Vanille and Serah worked at, heading inside, drenched from head to toe.

"Lumina!?" Serah called, noticing her pink haired friend soaking wet. "What are you doing? You could catch a cold!" Serah gently escorted Lumina through the back.

"Sorry, Serah." Lumina mumbled.

"Lumina, you need to remember to take a coat or umbrella in with you" Serah sighed, handing Lumina a towel. "Weren't you heading home with Hope and Alyssa today?"

"I don't recall that." Lumina lied. "Besides, I came to see if...maybe I could work here part-time."

"You want to work here?" Serah turned to her, blinking in shock. "Well, Lumina, I don't really know if my boss will allow a college student working here for only a few days a week."

"Please!? I'll work after college hours, too." She begged, clasping her hands together and backing Serah to the wall. "I just want to earn my own money instead of relying on everyone else and nowhere else will have me."

Serah pursed her lips, looking away from the begging girl. She found it too hard to resist her and not give in, and with a heavy sigh, she rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Alright, Lumina. I'll have a few words with him" Lumina's features lit up and she hugged Serah tightly, jumping up and down.

"Yay! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Lumina, you're still all wet!" Serah tried prying Lumina from her waist. "You wait here while I go and speak to him." Lumina let go and nodded, sitting in silence while Serah left.

"Hey, boss." Serah smiled, stepping into the room.

"Serah, how can I help?" A middle aged man smiled, sitting in his black chair in a formal suit.

"Well, I have a friend and she's looking for a part-time job to work around her college and I was wondering it-"

"You want me to give this friend a job here, right?" He cut in, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Serah, Serah...I can't just give these jobs to anyone."

"She's my cousin." Serah lied. Well, she wasn't really lying. Lumina really was family, in a way. "And she's really cute. Trust me, she knows how to use her body."

"Oh?" He stood up, walking over. "You better not disappoint me, Serah. Bring her in." Serah nodded, walking out and comging back with Lumina following behind.

"This is Lumina Farron, my cousin." Serah smiled, gesturing to Lumina standing beside her. The man grinned, eyeing the young Farron up and down. "So?" Serah inturrupted.

"Yes, I like her." He nodded, slowly taking his gaze off Lumina's body. "Serah, leave us to discuss some things. I'll take it from here." He smiled, dismissing Serah.

"Alright. I'll see you later, okay?" She nodded towards Lumina, who nodded back before Serah had left.

Now it was just Lumina and this man alone. He walked over to his door and locked it, heading back to his desk and sitting down.

"Please, sit." He smiled. Lumina did as she was told, and sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk before he continued. "So, tell me why I should let you work here, Lumina." A smirked plastered on his face again.

"Because I need it. I'm sick of relying on everyone else for money. I want to make my own money, even if it's only part time." Lumina nodded with determination. "And I think I'm good enough for this job. I'm cute, I know how to play with words and draw people in."

"Oh?" He chuckled, leaning in. "I like that, Lumina. You're honest about it."

"Why wouldn't I be?" She shrugged.

"Tell you what." The man leaned back in his chair. "I'll give you the job, work out the times...but why don't you show me how good you are first." The smug grin grew wider as he eyed Lumina from across his desk, her small frame and clothnig still a little wet from the rain. "Don't be shy, Lumina. We don't have time for shyness in this business. If you really want this job, the show me, prove it."

"I don't understand.."

"Do you not? Then let me come and show you a little bit of what I'm getting at." He stood up, walking over to her and leaning over her. She leaned back in the chair, her eyes looking up at his sleezy face. His brown hair hung down from his face, hazel eyes hungrily gazing into hers. "Lumina, have you ever had a man touch you?" He asked, running his hand along her pale arm.

"Of course..I live with a lot of boys, so-"

"No, Lumina. I don't mean like that. Are you really that innocent?" He chuckled. "But don't worry, that's how I like it" His hand slid onto her thiegh, stroking it gently. "But Lumina, what I mean, is have you ever had a man touch you in a pleasing way? Have you ever been pleased and touched in places someone wouldn't normally touch you?"

"I-I don't like this." Lumina protested, looking down at his hand as it slid under her dress.

"If you want this job so badly, then you'll stop resisting me, Lumina. This is the price you'll have to pay."

-Time passes-

"Alright, Lumina. You'll start tomorrow." Her new boss smiled. "I had fun. Now hurry up. Get your uniform from Serah and go home. And remember, this is our little secret. If anyone knows, you can kiss this job goodbye." His threat only made it more obvious to Lumina that it was bad. She pulled her body up, put her clothes back on and left, but when she tried to walk, her legs felt weak. Like there as no energy in them at all. She managed to gather herself up though and make her way out, leaving the man in his office.

"Hey, Lumina. You were in there for a while" Serah smiled. "You get the job?" Lumina's lip quivered as she thought about what had happened, but she pulled it into a smirk, nodding at her friend.

"Yep, I start tomorrow." Her voice shook.

"Are you okay, Lumi?"

"Yeah, I think I might be coming down with a cold from walking in the rain." She lied, shaking off the shake in her voice. "Anyway, he said you had my uniform."

"Yeah, right here." Serah smiled, handing it to her in a bag. "I still have another hour of work, so I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay, thanks, Serah." Lumina nodded, taking the bag and leaving.

But as if Lumina's luck couldn't get bad enough, she ran into Alyssa and Hope as she exited the cafe. They were walking beside each other, Hope holding an umbrella over them both. She couldn't even pretend she hand't noticed them because they noticed her, too.

"Hey, Lumina.." Hope said awkwardly. "You haven't been home yet?"

"No, I was applying for a job at this cafe."

"Really? That's cool."

"And that's good for business?" Alyssa started "They'll lose customers." Lumina shot Alyssa a death glare, ready to throw her a poisonous retort when-

"Alyssa, shut up." Hope frowned. It cought both girls by shock, but Hope ignored it and continued. "Listen, if you want to join us for some food, you're welcome."

"No thanks. I don't think I'm welcome and I want to go home" Lumina shot Hope down, refusing his offer completely. Normally she would've accepted to piss Alyssa off, but this time, she didn't want to or ever care about getting one over Alyssa.

"Oh..well..do you want to use this umbrella? It looks like it's going to start raining again and-"

"It's a little late for that now. I've already been cought in the rain, so an umbrella will do me little good now." She said simply. "Anyway, have fun." Lumina didn't even look at Hope, she just left. She didn't know why she acted that way, but she couldn't be any other way. It was just on impulse.

"Come on, Hope." Alyssa smiled, pulling Hope along. Of course she'd enjoy this. This was her victory to 'win' Hope. Or so she thought, or maybe she was right.

It didn't matter to Lumina right now. Inside, she was a mess, but her face remained still and unmoving. She felt like there was not only a wall between her and Hope, the one person she had felt close to, but she had just had unthinkable things happen to her. This world, it was disgusting. These feelings, she didn't want to feel them, yet she continued to lie through her teeth. She's continue to play the role she was created for. She didn't want anyone to be close to her anymore. She didn't want anyone to see the real her, who she really was.

The rain began to pour down again and cought Lumina, soaking her all over again. She hugged the bag with her uniform in close to her chest to shelter it as much as she could, slowly making her way home. In all honesty, she didn't want to go 'home' Could she even call it that now? Was it even her home to begin with? They all welcomed her, but she knew what they all really thought of her. It stung at her eyes to think about, and this time, she let herself cry. She didn't see any harm. This was a lonely road to walk, and the rain was pouring down enough to hide it.

Her body was getting colder, and to make matters worse, it was still very sore. She felt like her body was about to fail her, unable to go on anymore. But she didn't seem to care right now. She continued to walk, but only to push her body. She didn't care if her body fell to the cold, wet floor. She didn't care if she continued to lay there until dark. She didn't care if...if no one came to look for her...

Sniff, sniff.

"The tears began to fall again, drenching her face. Her eyes were red with tears at this point. This day, it was the worste day in her short life. She didn't want to endure it any longer, and maybe they really wouldn't care if she left.

BEEP, BEEP!

"LUMINA!?" A familiar voice called out, shocking her. She turned around, her vision still blurry from the tears. She could make out curly, brown hair a coat being held over his head before "Lumina!" Firm hands grabbed either side of her shoulders. "Lumina what are you doing out here in the rain!?" He yelled. Her vision cleared and Johannes face became clear to see. She stared up at him, wondering why he had arrived or even stopped for her. "You're soaking! You could get really sick like this! Damn it, Lumina! Didn't you think to take an umbrella! You've been gone for ages, too! You've had me and Lightning worried sick!" Worried sick...him and Lightning. Her eyes began to tear up again and she fell into Johannes arms, crying with no end.

It shocked him, why was she crying? But he didn't yell at her anymore and simply hugged her. "Lumina, lets get out of the rain, okay?" He escorted her to his car, sitting her in the passenger seat before getting into the drivers seat, himself. He gave her his coat to wrap around herself to warm her up even a little and blasted the heating in the car.

"Lumina, are you okay now?" He asked softly, reaching out and gently resting his hand on her knee, but she flinched and pulled her leg away. "Hmm?"

"I-I'm fine." She replied, staring out of the front window with a vacant stare.

"I...can't force you to tell me anything, can I? But Lumina, you can't-"

"I stopped off to get a job and got it, but then I got caught in the downpour. I got upset because I didn't have a coat or umbrella and I was so cold that I thought I was going to die. Then you showed up and I was really happy." She lied.

"Oh, well...then congrats on the job, Lumi" He chuckled, starting the car and driving. "So? Where's it at?"

"Same place as Serah and Vanille, except I have part-time."

"Oh, great. Did you see Serah?"

"Yeah."

"How is she?"

"She seems good." Lumina paused. "Johannes?"

"Yes?"

"Do you like Serah?" Johannes coughed, glancing from the road to Lumina in shock.

"M-me? Like Serah? Haha, no. She's with that Snow fella, anyway. I don't wanna mess with him." He blushed.

"So because of Snow, you're not going to try? You're letting another man stop you?" There was a moment of silence before Johannes spoke up again.

"Lumina...I've told you all about my past. I don't know if I'm ready to get into anything with anyone. I don't think I ever will be ready." A weak smile formed on Johannes face and he let out a small chuckle. "What about you, Lumi? Anyone who has your heart?"

"Me? No, I don't think I'd ready for that, either." Lumina slumped in her seat a little, snuggling into Johannes's coat some more. "Besides, I'm just like you." And with that, Lumina closed her eyes, drifting into a deep sleep. She was so tired, so, so just wanted to forget all the things that happened today.

"He's not picking up" Lightning paced back and forth in the front room, biting her nails.

"Sis, please stop doing that. You're making everyone anxious." Serah tried to get Lightning to sit down, but Lightning ignored her. It had been half an hour since Johannes went looking for Lumina, and in that time, Serah, Vanille and Hope had come home, so Lumina had taken even longer for them to get home, which was another hour after she left the cafe.

"I'm sure they'll be back soon." Vanille smiled nervously, feeling doubtful of her own words. Hope was worried too, sitting onthe sofa with his head in his hands, his thoughts racing. He kept thinking about Lumina being missing and that anything could happen to her. He kept thinking about how she was when he saw her last, how short she was with him and how vacant her eyes looked. He was worried the worse had happened. He was worried that it was his fault, too. He didn't want Lumina to be gone, he cared for her too much.

Just then, a car pulled up in the driveway and Lightning ran outside to see it was Johannes. He walked over to the passanger's side and pulled Lumina out, carrying her in his arms.

"What happened? Is she okay?" Lightnign shot questions at him.

"Relax" Johannes hushed as she stepped in, getting out of the rain. "She's fine, I found her walking along the sidewalk on the countrylane, so no wonder she took so long to get home."

"The countrylane? What was she doing walking along there?" Serah ran over, looking at Lumina with concern as Johannes placed her down on the sofa.

"Mmm." Lumina shifted, her eyes peeling open to see everyone looking at her. "What..?"

"What do you mean 'what'? We were all worried sick, you little demon." Lightning scowled, her arms folded.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, missy!" Vanille joined in. Lumina continued to look around, a little confused. Were they all really that worried?

"It's alright, everyone. I've spoken to her already. She just got cought in the rain and got a bit lost. Lucky I came when I did, huh?" He winked at Lumina.

"Right. Just don't do it again." Lightning sighed, turning away and rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"You were all worried about me? Even Lightning?" Lumina stood up.

"Yeah, we're family, Lumina." Serah smiled. "Now lets get you in the shower and into some warm clothes, okay?" Serah pulled Lumina along upstairs, leaving the rest to finally relax.

"Well, that's enough excitement for me." Vanille sighed, fallng back into the chair. "Ahhhhh"

"I'm just glad she's safe." Hope spoke up. While the young boy looked relieved, he was still concerned for her. He wanted to know what was going on through her head. He wanted to know where he stood with her.

It had been two weeks since then and Lumina had slipped into her new part-time job nicely. She was still carrying the burden of what happened with her boss, and she had grown to hate that man with every bone in her body. She had even researched it and learned about what he did and the more she found out, the worse she felt. But it was Lumina, so she used all those negative feelings to fuel her cruel side. She had become to mischievious little demon everyone knew her for once again. However, she was a little different for Johannes. She would never say anything to get at him, and everyone had noticed this. Even Hope noticed it and assumed Lumina was in love with him.

It was when he came to that conclusion that he decided to ask Alyssa to be his girlfriend. He felt so betrayed by Lumina, and he didn't know why. He knew they were just friends, he knew it. But when he thought about how distant she had become, when he thought she might be in love with Johannes, it made him angry. So he turned to Alyssa to take his mind off of Lumina. They'd been to the cafe she worked at a lot, too, and Lumina couldn't avoid them. It set off a bitter feeling inside of her, a cruel feeling. She felt betrayed by Hope, just as he felt betrayed by her. They had drifted appart, yet they both wanted to be close again.

It was them drifting appart in the first place that caused Lumina to hide away in her shell, creating this persona. She didn't blame Hope, but she was well aware that all these things happened in a string of unfortunate events that happened after they drifted.

In that time though, Lumina had also found out some juicy things about her friends. One day after work, Vanille asked Lumina if on her way home, she could take something to Fang for a snack. But what Lumina saw was too interesting. Fang still has no idea that Lumina saw the whole thing with her little 'friend' but Lumina was waiting for the right moment to bring it up. At this point, she had convinced herself that she didn't care about Hope and Alyssa anymore. She had also convinced herself she hated men, and why wouldn't she after what her boss did to her? He hadn't tried it since, but she was still cautious of the man, always making sure her work was flawless. She didn't want any man touching her, she'd flinch away. Even Johannes couldn't touch her, but unlike the other's Johannes noticed and understood that something was very wrong. However, he kept quiet for now. He was aware that Lumina was different for him, he knew she trusted him. He didn't want to do anything to push her away.

The trip to the spa was also coming closer and closer and everyone was excited. Something so simple was so important to them, but it made them wonder, is this what it feels like to be alive?

AN: woow, dark chapter, right? Sorry updates have taken so long, but they'll take their time to get up since I have a lot of work to do with college and all. But don't worry, more characters are coming very soon and I know I've favoured Lumina a lot lately, but I think she's the most interesting and fun to work with when dealing with the real world since she's quite a complex character as it is. But yes, don't worry. All the wrongs can make a right.


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